In response to Microsoft’s January announcement that it would invest over $10 billion into OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, Google parent company Alphabet has announced their newest attempt to compete in the rapidly growing field of artificial intelligence (AI). In a statement published Monday, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai announced their newest product, Bard.
ChatGPT exploded in popularity when it became available to the general public in Nov. 2022, prompting anxious think pieces about the future of education and a scramble to implement software capable of detecting AI-generated college essays.
Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google Inc. speaks during an event in New Delhi on December 19, 2022. (Photo by SAJJAD HUSSAIN/AFP via Getty Images)
Google has been known to roll its products out over time and build upon each release. When the company released the conversational program known as Language Model for Dialogue Applications (LaMDA), it was only available to users via their “AI Test Kitchen,” which currently has a waitlist for new users. LaMDA is designed to develop answers based on sourcing from the web, as well as previous trends from the user.
LaMDA can now be found on all Android devices, but Bard is currently available only to “trusted users,” according to Pichai. (RELATED:Microsoft Posts Worst Earnings In Years After Major Layoffs)
It’s currently unclear how Google plans to differentiate Bard from OpenAI’s ChatGPT. As ChatGPT’s popularity has skyrocketed, users have increasingly encountered an error message that the program “is at capacity right now.” Some tech writers have speculated that Google plans to implement Bard directly into browsers, as opposed to ChatGPT, which has to be used in a separate tab. The integration would likely help e-commerce platforms and allow Alphabet to further explore products in that realm.
In January, Alphabet announced massive layoffs, rolling back its pandemic-era hiring spree.