Feb. 9: Google is looking for ways to reassure people that it’s still ahead in the race for the best AI technology.
And so far, the internet giant seems to be giving the wrong answer.
An ad designed to showcase its new AI bot showed it answering a query incorrectly.
Shares in parent company Alphabet plunged more than 7% on Wednesday, wiping $100bn (£82bn) off the company’s market value.
In promoting the bot, known as Bard, which went live on Twitter on Monday, the bot was asked what to tell a nine-year-old boy about the discoveries of the James Webb Space Telescope.
He offered the response that the telescope was the first to take pictures of a planet outside Earth’s solar system, when in fact that milestone was claimed by the European Very Large Telescope in 2004, a mistake quickly noted by astronomers on Twitter.
“Why didn’t you check this example before sharing it?” Chris Harrison, a fellow at Newcastle University, responded to the tweet.
Investors were also disappointed by a presentation the company made about its plans to implement artificial intelligence in its products.
Google has been under pressure since late last year, when Microsoft-backed OpenAI introduced new ChatGPT software. He quickly became a viral hit for his ease with passing business school exams, composing song lyrics, and answering other questions.
Microsoft said this week that a new version of its Bing search engine, which has lagged behind Google for years, would use ChatGPT technology in an even more advanced way.
Although investors have embraced the boost from artificial intelligence, skeptics have warned that rushing the technology increases the risks of errors or skewed results, as well as plagiarism issues.
A Google spokesperson said the bug highlighted “the importance of a rigorous testing process, something we’re starting this week with our Trusted Tester program.”
“We will combine external feedback with our own internal testing to ensure that Bard’s responses meet a high level of quality, security, and roundness on real-world data,” they said.
Last month, Google’s parent company Alphabet cut 12,000 jobs, about 6% of its global workforce, amid layoffs at several leading tech giants.
