Google Bard - The most important points in brief: |
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Google Bard is finally available in Germany. But is another chatbot, alongside ChatGPT and various other providers, really necessary? What is the Unique Selling Proposition (USP) of Google Bard, and is Bard mature enough to be used safely in companies?
Just like ChatGPT, Google Bard is a chatbot that utilizes Artificial Intelligence. Users input questions and prompts into a text field and receive a response generated by the chatbot based on the input. Bard can even display up to three responses. Everything from poems, letters, summaries, and various types of text is possible. Unlike ChatGPT, Bard has access to information from the internet to generate its responses.
Google Bard can be used not only for text generation but also to answer questions. Users can ask the chatbot about individuals, historical events, scientific theories, and the like. Unfortunately, the answers to such questions are often still incorrect, so you should not rely on the accuracy of the responses provided by the chatbot. In many attempts, Bard still generates false facts, incorrect biographies, or even entirely fictional individuals. Despite having access to the internet, many of the news items Bard provides are outdated.
A more reliable function of Google Bard is text translation. Google Bard can translate texts, documents, and the like in more than 40 languages.
With Google Bard, texts can be edited in tone and style. However, this feature is currently only available in English.
Google Bard also has a text-to-speech function that can read the generated answers and texts out loud.
Like ChatGPT, Google Bard can be used for programming. The language model can create code and check for errors. Google states that Bard is proficient in 20 programming languages.
Depending on the queries you make, Google Bard can assist you in various situations. It can create packing lists for your next vacation, provide tips for planning a children’s birthday party, generate texts for various platforms and formats, create captions for images you input, develop marketing plans, provide design tips, explain relationships, and more.
Thanks to some expansions, Google Bard is set to become even more useful by simplifying tasks such as hotel and flight bookings, thereby distinguishing itself further from its competitor ChatGPT. This is primarily achieved by integrating Google’s chatbot into its own products as well as other services. As discovered by Dylan Roussel of 9to5Google, Google Bard is expected to be integrated into the following services soon:
Bard is also being prepared for Google Workspace services, including Gmail, Google Drive, Docs, and many others. Additionally, collaboration with other partners is planned, such as Adobe. In the future, the image generator Adobe Firefly is intended to be integrated into Bard.
So what exactly are the differences between ChatGPT and Google Bard?
You can use the chatbot via the website bard.google.com. However, you need to sign in with a Google account to do so. It is free to use, but comes with an agreement to modified privacy policies.
Google Bard became available to European users later than in other regions due to data privacy concerns. The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC), responsible for Google in Europe, had concerns about whether Bard complied with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). These concerns seem to have been addressed now. Google manager Jack Krawczyk, responsible for Google Bard, states that Google will ensure user data is always protected. However, caution should be exercised, especially for companies. When using Bard, you agree to the updated privacy policies, which state, among other things:
“Google uses information to improve our services and to develop new products, features and technologies that benefit our users and the public. For example, we use publicly available information to train Google’s AI models and develop products and features like Google Translate, Bard, and cloud AI features.”
Google now reserves the right to use user data to improve all its AI models and products, not just the language models, as it was stated previously.
Normally, companies in the EU are restricted by data privacy policies to collect only the data that users directly provide. With the new policy, Google can collect and use all information that users publish online. For example, the company can use web and app activities or the location history of your Google account to train its artificial intelligences.
Google claims that the collected data will be automatically anonymized, but the information can be stored for up to three years if you do not object.
If you still want to use Google Bard in your company despite data privacy concerns, you can take some measures to protect your data.
If you want to use Bard in your company, you should train your employees not to blindly trust the information Bard gives you. As explained earlier, Bard currently gives out outdated, incorrect, or even fictitious information. If Bard is used for writing articles, for example, it is therefore important to check the facts critically so as not to publish any untruths on behalf of your company.
Google itself calls Google Bard an “experiment”
Google itself refers to Bard as an “experiment,” and that is exactly what it is at the moment. Users can rate the answers with a thumbs up or thumbs down and choose from up to three responses. This way, the system learns and will hopefully provide better and factually correct answers in the future.
Google is using users to train the chatbot. Hopefully, not too many users will find it amusing to give false answers a thumbs up.
In conclusion, good things take time. Yes, Google Bard could become a promising AI with more versatile features than ChatGPT. However, it is not there yet, and currently, the bot poses more risks than benefits.
For companies, it is advisable to wait until the AI is mature before using Google Bard. Even then, it is crucial to ensure the protection of company data.
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