Google I/O recently unveiled a much-needed overhaul to their AI chatbot, Bard, giving it the capability to generate images through collaboration with Adobe. With help from Adobe’s Firefly, a family of generative AI models, the upgraded Bard AI chatbot will now be able to generate pictures from text responses in Adobe Express with content credentials from the Content Authenticity Initiative. This development marks an important step in the AI race for Bard, enabling it to more effectively compete with Microsoft’s Bing AI.
The announcement of Bard with Adobe Firefly is a step in the right direction for Google, although Bard’s initial release was met with less than favorable reception. The updated features will also assist novice users in creating images which match their vision with just a few simple prompts. This cutting-edge milestone for AI technology is an indication that Google is taking an important stand within the AI community.
However, there is a great deal of apprehension towards AI-image generation, as authentically created artwork may be plagiarized or stolen in order to train a robot or recreate the image through models such as Midjourney and DALL-E. Google has attempted to combat this issue by tagging posts produced by Bard with a content credential, which will attempt to provide transparency.
At the end of the day, it’s clear that both Microsoft and Google share a common goal of advancing AI technology and providing users with an innovative platform to explore creative endeavors. Bing AI is currently taking the lead when it comes to best AI art generator through its DALL-E integration, but Google’s update for their Bard AI chatbot is sure to give them a competitive edge. Midjourney is also hot on their heels, so Google will need to put in the work to ensure their product is suitable for the task.
Adobe and Google collaborating on the build-out of Bard with Firefly was an unexpected pairing, and one upon which Google may be taking a risk. Even so, the company showed that they are up to the challenge and Firefly is a fitting platform for image generation that is still in beta. The Content Authenticity Initiative, a new open-source technology, may also prove beneficial in AI-image generation scenarios.
As we continue to witness the development of AI technology, the world of imagery and art continues to evolve. We are already seeing a shift towards a future where our everyday ideas can come to life through computer generated images. Google has provided a glimpse at how we can observe this evolution, as they render Bard with a brand new image generation capacity.
