Google’s employees were stated as saying that the AI chatbot was “cringe worthy”, “useless”, and a “pathological liar”.
In a report released by Bloomberg, Google employees were apparently unsatisfied by Google’s version of ChatGPT, Bard, and thought that the decision to release Bard in February, 2024 was rushed in lieu of not falling behind in the AI race. The employees believed that the AI software was still in development phase when Google made that rash decision to release it to the public in February, 2024.
Bloomberg’s report states that employees called the AI software “useless” and a “pathological liar” which had a potential to cause “death and injury” in some cases. The report came out after Bloomberg had access to internal documents which state that around 18 employees at the time thought the chatbot was of low quality and not ready for the public to consume.
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Google’s dilemma with Bard
ChatGPT took over the world when it was launched back in November, 2022. When ChatGPT was first launched, Google announced that it wanted to do its version of the AI software the right way rather than rushing it.
But the massive success of ChatGPT sent a rush into the Google atmosphere to release its version of the chatbot in order to not fall behind in the AI race. The Company’s decision to rush Bard was seen as a way to compete against ChatGPT rather than a way to provide its users with the best experience.
Reports stated that the employees were unsatisfied with Bard and thought that it was not of a quality that is to be released. Bloomberg had access to screenshots of internal discussion among Google employees which state that the employees went as far ahead to call the chatbot useless and a pathological liar. Some employees even added that the chatbot is extremely dangerous and could lead to serious harm and injury, even death.
When asked by an employee about how to land a plane, the chatbot gave advice which could lead the plane to crash. Another employee added that Bard’s advice on scuba diving could lead to injury and even death.
When asked for a comment on the recent reports, a Google spokesperson said that the company is trying to invest in teams to work towards applying AI principles to their technologies.
ChatGPT versus Bard
ChatGPT is an AI software developed by Microsoft-backed Open AI. Ever since its launch, the software has been continuously lauded for its factual accuracy and ability to improve upon itself.
ChatGPT is able to provide highly detailed and intellectual answers to simple google queries and even answer philosophical questions. The software is developed in a way that it is continuously learning and correcting upon itself by accessing more and more data points.
Tech Companies, like Google, did not expect the AI software to become such a phenomenon and have a global outreach in such a short span. The success of ChatGPT has forced companies like Google to advance on their own version of the chatbot in order to keep up with competition.
Google’s Bard, which came out in February, was already being criticized as not being ideal for launching it to the public, when during the launch event it provided an incorrect answer to a query.
The launch event was heavily criticized by people all around the world as it showed Google’s desperation to compete in the AI software market and lack of dedication to its consumers.
The company in regards to all the criticism has replied that they are trying to constantly improve Bard and that the AI platform will soon be competent enough to compete in the market.
