Bard has shaken off that disastrous live demo.
A little more than a month after Google's generative artificial intelligence bot made a factual error in its debut demonstration, wiping $100 billion off parent company Alphabet's market value in a single day, Bard is now available to some users in the US and the UK.
How does the chatbot work?
Bard is Google's competitor to Microsoft's Bing Chat and OpenAI's ChatGPT.
The bot is built on the neural network LaMDA, which stands for language model for dialogue applications and is based on 1.56 trillion words from public forums and other websites.
LaMDA is an AI system Google started developing in 2015, around the time Alphabet and Google chief executive Sundar Pichai declared a strategy shift to becoming an “AI-first” company.
It can offer conversational responses to complex or open-ended questions.
For example, users can ask Bard to give them tips for how to prepare for a job interview, explain complex scientific concepts in simple terms, draft an invitation for a party or write an outline for a school paper.
“We really see it as this creative collaborator,” says Jack Krawczyk, a senior product director at Google, as reported by MIT Technology Review.
How do I gain access to Bard?
Bard is initially available to some customers in the US and the UK. Users can join the waiting list here.
Google said it would be expanding Bard “over time to more countries and languages” but did not specify a timetable, and framed the launch of Bard as “an experiment”.
How is Bard different from ChatGPT?
User beware.
Google offers many disclaimers with Bard, including that it may make mistakes or “give inaccurate or inappropriate responses”.
OpenAI had a similar warning for ChatGPT, saying it was “still is not fully reliable” and prone to stating incorrect facts, making reasoning errors and displaying bias.
Bard's system is very limited in citing its sources, so there is no way of knowing where it is getting its answers from.
ChatGPT and Bing Chat perform a bit better on this, offering limited information on how they generate answers.
Bard gives real-time answers to queries. ChatGPT and Bing rely on data that stops in 2021.
In an internal email seen by CNBC, Mr Pichai told employees that the success of Bard depended on wide-scale public testing.
“As more people start to use Bard and test its capabilities, they’ll surprise us. Things will go wrong,” Mr Pichai wrote.
“But the user feedback is critical to improving the product and the underlying technology.”
How much will it cost?
For now, Bard is free.
Google has a long track record of offering its apps at zero cost to users because the company primarily makes its money from selling advertising.
In a world with generative AI, where web users can get answers immediately from conversational bots, the future of the search engine — and advertising revenue — is up in the air.
For now, Google is positioning Bard as a “complement” to search, Platformer reported.
The service is connected to Google Search, and there is a “Google it” button underneath every response from Bard.
By contrast, ChatGPT sells subscriptions to its service at $20 a month.
MEFCC information
Tickets range from Dh110 for an advance single-day pass to Dh300 for a weekend pass at the door. VIP tickets have sold out. Visit www.mefcc.com to purchase tickets in advance.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECreator%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENetflix%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EKris%20Fade%2C%20Ebraheem%20Al%20Samadi%2C%20Zeina%20Khoury%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
