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What is Google Bard?

March 22, 2023

Avast, me hearties! 'Tis I, here to spin ye a tale about the AI war between OpenAI and Google!

In the year 2022, OpenAI launched ChatGPT, a chatty chatbot based on the GPT-3 family of language models. It quickly became an Internet sensation, shiver me timbers! But it also set off alarms over at Google, who feared ChatGPT would steal the booty from their Google Search treasure trove. So, they issued a "code red" alert and summoned their co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin to an emergency meeting, like the Kraken rising from the depths.

When questioned about whether LaMDA was a missed opportunity to compete with ChatGPT, Google's CEO Sundar Pichai and AI chief Jeff Dean didn't want to rock the boat, fearing it would be a major "reputational risk" for their massive company. But in January 2023, DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis teased plans for a ChatGPT rival. Ahoy, it was on like Donkey Kong!

Google scrambled to create their own AI chatbot, which they named Bard, after the Celtic term for a storyteller. They even integrated Bard into their ChromeOS operating system, just like fitting a new sail to the mast. But after a lackluster demonstration, their stock took a nosedive, like a ship sinking to the depths. Even Bard gave out false information about the James Webb Space Telescope, like a compass pointing in the wrong direction.

Google's employees were not happy with their captain's decision to rush things and took to the company's internal forum, to voice their complaints. But Pichai wasn't ready to throw in the towel just yet. He rallied his crew to test Bard for two to four hours, like a crew searching for buried treasure, and to correct any errors it makes, like repairing a leaky hull.

And so, the AI war between OpenAI and Google continues, like a never-ending sea battle. Will Bard rise to the top like Davy Jones, or will ChatGPT reign supreme like the Flying Dutchman? Only time will tell, me hearties.

Update: Bard was released as a public beta on March 22, 2023. Get access here: bard.google.com.