In a recent blog post on Monday, Feb 6th, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai announced the company’s plan to launch a conversational AI service named Bard, which will be powered by LaMDA (Language Model for Dialogue Applications). The service will be available for testing by users and is expected to be released to the public in the coming weeks. This move is seen as a response to rival Microsoft’s ChatGPT in the race to lead the next wave of technology. Pichai emphasized the combination of “power, intelligence, and creativity” that the company’s large language models bring to the AI service.
Bard can access information from the web and continually improve its knowledge based on user responses. The company will initially release a lightweight version of LaMDA for testing and feedback, with the aim of improving the AI system for future applications. Bard is seen as a rival to Microsoft’s OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which recently became the fastest-growing consumer application in history, surpassing TikTok and Instagram. According to estimates, ChatGPT reached 100 million monthly active users in January, just two months after its launch.
In addition to the launch of Bard, Google is also focusing on expanding its AI capabilities through partnerships with other AI systems such as Cohere, C3.ai, and Anthropic. The company recently announced a significant investment of approximately $400 million in Anthropic, demonstrating its commitment to advancing its AI offerings.
