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Nancy OShea
Community Expert
Community Expert
April 20, 2023
Question

Google's Experimental AI, Bard

  • April 20, 2023
  • 7 replies
  • 2412 views

The Bard beta program is by invitation only but anyone can apply.  After submitting my name to the wait list, a few minutes later I received an invitation to try Bard.

https://bard.google.com/

 

First I asked Bard to write some promotional copy.  Bard generated a flowery but somewhat vague description of a fabulous island vacation at a luxury resort. The copy was solidly written with lots of appeal but not quite what I was looking for.  

 

Next, I asked Bard for a promotional blurb for a mythic tangible product.  Once again, the copy was well-written, very promotional and abundantly usable for a sales campaign.

 

I then asked Bard to write a critical wine review of vintage 1970 Heitz Cellar Martha's Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon (if you can find it at auction, it costs about $1,900/750ml bottle).  Bard informed me that he has no olfactory senses or taste buds and can't appreciate wine.  But within a few seconds, I was presented with an articulate & accurate description of the characteristics of 1970 cabernets from the Napa Valley region  -- complete with flavors, aromas, texture, finish and longevity.  It was almost as good (maybe better) than some of the reviews written by famous wine critics.  All in all, not too shabby considering Bard has no idea what wine is. 

 

I think Bard is useful for overcoming creative mind-block.  When you're staring at a blank-page and short on creative inspiration, Bard can give your brain the jump start it needs. 

 

    This topic has been closed for replies.

    7 replies

    John T Smith
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    May 12, 2023

    AI in general is a legal mess

     

    FREE EDITION: The right to be sued @ AskWoody

    KShinabery212
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    May 10, 2023

    It is funny I could join the waitlist with my work GMAIL account...but not my personal one.

    For my personal one it says it is not available in my country.  But the funny thing is my work email address is also from Germany.

    Let's connect on LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/kshinabery/
    Abambo
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    May 1, 2023

    Last time I wanted to access Bard, it told me, that access was limited to the US and UK!

     

    (Which I find highly unfair, as neither the US and the UK are important countries, IMHO 😂. That lets me use only Bing GPT).

    ABAMBO | Hard- and Software Engineer | Photographer
    Nancy OShea
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    May 1, 2023

    All countries are important.  But Bard is in early experimental tests. 

    They may be rolling it through English Only to see how it reacts.

     

    Nancy O'Shea— Product User & Community Expert
    Abambo
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    May 1, 2023

    😂I'm writing English. If they wanted only to have English, they would limit to English. I suppose they want to avoid another “Italy” as for ChatGPT.

    ABAMBO | Hard- and Software Engineer | Photographer
    Chuck Uebele
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    April 23, 2023

    I'm concerned about fact checking. Who is going to have the motivation, intent, or resources to check the IA articles? If you read stories, now, from different sources,  they are pretty much the exact same story, pulled off some service. Who is going to check, and how: look stuff up on the web, to find the same IA generated articles or information?

    Nancy OShea
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    April 24, 2023

    Who currently fact checks articles written by humans?

    The same rules apply.

     

    Nancy O'Shea— Product User & Community Expert
    Chuck Uebele
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    April 24, 2023

    That's kind of my point. Will actual humans fact check things? They're not doing the best job now.

    Legend
    April 22, 2023

    The issue l have with AI is it breeds laziness which will lead to a lot of miss information. You obviously checked what was sent back to you to make an assessment of how accurate the information was. lm not so sure that is going to be the case in many instances. Used like anything else it can help but abused it can result in negligence which may get you into a lot of trouble if you published miss information, particularly in cases of sensitive information.

     

    Like I said in a previous post, one of the AIs accused someone of being a murderer when they queried it about an incident which happened  some years ago. What l would question is who is accountable for that? I would assume the person who was being accused has a good case to sue the company who produced the AI for millions of pounds.

    Nancy OShea
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    April 22, 2023
    quote

    Like I said in a previous post, one of the AIs accused someone of being a murderer when they queried it about an incident which happened  some years ago.


    By @osgood_

    ==========

    I must have missed that post.  Misinformation is highly subjective.  It's based on one's perception and available data. In the absence of reliable information, confabulation occurs.  Flat-Earth theorists firmly believe the world isn't round. All AI machines hallucinate, an odd quirk for which programmers have no explanation. 

     

    Imagine a self-learning machine gives a potent breakthrough formula to a scientist.

    • Scientist A uses the formula to create a weapon that can kill millions of people.
    • Scientist B uses the formula to create a cure for cancer that can save millions of people.

    Based on available information, who is the saint & who is the sinner? 

     

    Now let's further imagine that

    • Scientist A works for the military in a war-torn region like Ukraine. The weapon is never deployed but acts as a deterrent which leads to a quicker end to the war.  A peace treaty is signed resulting in saved lives on both sides.
    • Scientist B works for a pharmaceutical company that fears releasing the cancer cure now will adversely impact profits from their other drug treatments. The cancer cure is withheld resulting in lives lost to cancer.

    Now who are the saints & who are the sinners?

     

    The more information we have to draw from, the more likely we are to arrive at better conclusions. It's no different for AI. 

     

    Insofar as AI being good or evil, it's neither.  It's merely a tool, no more good or evil than a 3D printer.  AFAIK, nobody has successfully sued a 3D printer (yet).

     

    Nancy O'Shea— Product User & Community Expert
    Legend
    April 23, 2023

    I'd still like to know who is responsible for defamation of character and slander, both of which can be legally challenged. I'm sure if your kids or grand kids in the future used an AI and questioned it about yourself you would not like the results if it implied you were a murderer, when it was not true. Companies who produce these AIs must check the facts and be held accountable if their robot is incorrect, train their AIs not to provide what could be considered sensitive and disturbing information, information which cannot be verified or information which hasn't been checked via multiple sources, otherwise it is they who should be responsible and be prepared to pay the consequences. 

     

    AIs can be useful in none critical information gathering,  for assistance only, but it's treading on dodgy ground in my opinion to make stuff up from unreliable sources in cases where a user requires factual information. 

     

     

    Chuck Uebele
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    April 21, 2023

    Just saw an article about Buzzfeed. They're shutting down their news division, but trying to make up losses by using AI to write articles. 

    Nancy OShea
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    April 21, 2023
    quote

    Just saw an article about Buzzfeed. They're shutting down their news division, but trying to make up losses by using AI to write articles. 


    By @Chuck Uebele

    ===========

    AI articles can't be protected by copyright.

     

    For more AI developments, watch this interesting video (23 min).

     

     

    Nancy O'Shea— Product User & Community Expert
    Abambo
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    May 1, 2023
    quote

    AI articles can't be protected by copyright.


    By @Nancy OShea

    ...in the USA. My AI articles are (c) protected, also in the USA. I just need to prove the creation of a reasonable sophisticated prompt. "Write a letter to Nancy" would not be enough:

     

    Dear Nancy,

    I am writing to you to express my gratitude for your support and guidance during my time at ABC Inc. You have been a great mentor and friend to me, and I have learned a lot from you. I appreciate your kindness, patience, and professionalism. You have always encouraged me to pursue my goals and challenged me to grow as a person and as an employee.

    I am sad to leave ABC Inc., but I am also excited for the new opportunity that awaits me at XYZ Ltd. I hope we can stay in touch and continue to share our experiences and insights. You can reach me at my personal email address or phone number anytime.

    Thank you again for everything you have done for me. I wish you all the best in your future endeavors.

    Sincerely,
    Your name

    ABAMBO | Hard- and Software Engineer | Photographer
    John T Smith
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    April 21, 2023

    What is the old saying? (something like) Give a million monkeys typewriters and they will eventually bang out a novel?

    Nancy OShea
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    April 21, 2023

    The main difference between Bard & monkeys (besides the mess they make) is the amount of time it takes.  Bard can create a manuscript in seconds.

     

    I was talking with a law professor at USC.  He allows his law students to use AI in the classroom.  He says AI Chat is as common a tool in practicing law as a calculator is in an accounting firm. 

     

     

    Nancy O'Shea— Product User & Community Expert
    Abambo
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    May 1, 2023

    For law students (and lawyers) a chat AI program is probably very valuable, as it saves time researching precedent. But you still need to check all that data manually. For a literary student, you will have a different situation.

    ABAMBO | Hard- and Software Engineer | Photographer