Google CEO Sundar Pichai recently told The New York Times’ Hard Fork podcast that he used the company’s Bard AI chatbot to help him plan his father’s 80th birthday party. He asked the chatbot: “What do I do with my dad on an 80th birthday?” And the chatbot answered: “Make a scrapbook”. Pichai said that “it’s not that it’s profound, but it says things and kind of sparks the imagination”.
The technology that powers Bard, LaMDA, was developed by Google two years ago and was used to answer questions like: “Imagine you were Pluto as a planet.” To this, the chatbot reportedly gave deep and unsettling answers that struck emotion in those who interacted with it. Experts have since stated that it is easy for the mind to trick people into thinking a chatbot is sentient when it is not.
In March 2021, tech entrepreneurs like Elon Musk signed a letter for a six-month pause on AI development, citing safety concerns and data privacy. Pichai still remains optimistic: he said that Google will upgrade the chatbot and make it more powerful with “more capable models”. He believes that the chatbot is performing well despite being “a souped-up Civic” when compared to ‘more powerful cars’.
Google is the largest and most popular search engine company in the world. Founded in 1998 and headquartered in California, the company mainly specializes in Internet-related products and services, like online advertising and search technologies. Google is the most valuable brand in the world and has an estimated net worth of over $500 billion.
Sundar Pichai is the CEO of Google, having taken the role in 2015. A native of India, Pichai earned an undergraduate degree in metallurgical engineering before going on to get a master’s degree in Material Sciences and Engineering. He then went on to get an MBA from the Wharton School. He is credited for the successful launch of Google Chrome and the development of the company’s cloud computing business.
