Over the years, Alphabet Inc.’s Google has dominated online search, accounting for the majority of the search market, up to 90% as of January 2023. However, Google’s dominance is now being challenged by the recent boom of generative AI, especially chatbots like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, with many saying that Google’s position could eventually be overturned by AI.
Amid the speculations, Google swiftly released Bard in March, apparently to solidify its presence in the AI scene while also maintaining its leading position in the search market.
Complaints Mount Over Google’s Bard
Similar to ChatGPT, Bard is a conversational AI chatbot designed around search. It has since been upgraded to include other functionalities like analyzing photos and generating responses in different languages. It has also been integrated into other lineups of Google’s products, such as Gmail, Maps, etc. Yet, many users still doubt the usefulness of Bard.
In a Discord invitation-only chat created by Google for the heavy users of Bard, people, including Google insiders, complained about the tool making up facts and giving potentially dangerous advice.
“Since launching Bard as an experiment, we’ve been eager to hear people’s feedback on what they like and how we can further improve the experience. Our discussion channel with people who use Discord is one of the many ways we do that,” said Jennifer Rodstrom, a spokesperson for Google.
The complaint about Bard making up facts is one that Google itself did not deny. Whenever using Bard, Google usually returns a subtle disclaimer that “Bard may display inaccurate or offensive information that doesn’t represent Google’s views.”
Google Employees Criticize Bard
A Bloomberg report in April showed this had been the case with Bard even before Google launched it. One of Google’s employees who were asked to test the product labelled it a “pathological liar,” while another called it “cringe-worthy.” Some were even against the launch, saying, “Bard is worse than useless: please do not launch.” However, Bard was launched anyway as Google rushed to keep up with the competition.
Meanwhile, from the community feedback, Google has been making some improvements to ensure Bard gets better and does not deviate from reality while summarizing or generating responses. One such improvement is the “Double-check the responses” button, which Dominik Rabiej, a senior product manager for Bard, recommends that people use.
