Google to launch ChatGPT competitor 'Bard': Sundar Pichai
New York, Feb 7: Google CEO Sundar Pichai has announced that the tech giant will soon launch an Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered chatbot called Bard', aimed at countering the popularity of the ChatGPT tool backed by Microsoft.
According to a blog post by Pichai, the conversational AI service will be assessed by a group of "trusted testers" before being rolled out to the public in the coming weeks.
"Bard can be an outlet for creativity, and a launchpad for curiosity," Pichai, the Indian-origin CEO of Google and parent company Alphabet, said on Monday, adding that Google's chatbot will be able to explain complex subjects like new discoveries from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope to a nine-year-old.
Google's announcement follows wide speculation that Microsoft is about to bring the AI chatbot ChatGPT to its search engine Bing, following a multi-billion dollar investment in the firm behind it, OpenAI, the BBC reported.
ChatGPT (Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer), which was launched in November 2022, is capable of generating speeches, songs, marketing copy, news articles and student essays or human-like text based on the input it is given.
Bard, built on Google's existing large language model LaMDA, "seeks to combine the breadth of the world's knowledge with the power, intelligence, and creativity of our large language models", Pichai, 50, said in the blog.
AI chatbots are designed to answer questions and find information.
"Bard seeks to combine the breadth of the world's knowledge with the power, intelligence, and creativity of our large language models," Pichai said in the blog post.
Pichai said he wanted Google's AI services to be "bold with innovation and responsible in our approach". However, he did not elaborate on how Bard would be prevented from sharing harmful or abusive content.
He said that Google will initially release Bard with a "lightweight model" version of LaMDA which will require less computing power and enable the tech giant to scale to more users, allowing for more feedback.
"We're excited for this phase of testing," Pichai said, adding that Google will combine external feedback with internal testing to make sure Bard's responses meet a high bar for quality, safety and groundedness in real-world information.
"It's critical that we bring experiences rooted in these models to the world in a bold and responsible way. That's why we're committed to developing AI responsibly," he wrote in the blog.
Pichai also said on Monday that AI-powered tools will soon begin rolling out on Google's flagship Search tool.
"Soon, you'll see AI-powered features in Search that distil complex information and multiple perspectives into easy-to-digest formats, so you can quickly understand the big picture and learn more from the web," Pichai wrote, "whether that's seeking out additional perspectives, like blogs from people who play both piano and guitar, or going deeper on a related topic, like steps to get started as a beginner."
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ICAI Dubai Chapter officials honor prominent Kannadiga NRI SM Syed Khalil
Dubai: A delegation from The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI Dubai Chapter) recently visited the reputed NRI Businessman and founding member of the ICAI Dubai Chapter, SM Syed Khalil, at his residence in Dubai to extend their felicitations.
Led by Rajesh Kumar Somani, Chairman of the ICAI Dubai Chapter, the delegation included Secretary Rishi Chawla, Treasurer Dheeraj Ranasaria, and Executive Member Aashna Mulgaonkar.
During the visit, the delegation commended SM Syed Khalil for his dedicated service to the ICAI Dubai Chapter, where he served as Chairman for two terms between 1987 and 1994. They also acknowledged his ongoing guidance and support to the chapter's office bearers since its inception.
As a token of appreciation, the delegation presented SM Syed Khalil with a memento and expressed their gratitude for his continued support and mentorship in the future.
SM Syed Khalil, a distinguished chartered accountant, has contributed significantly to the UAE's business landscape, notably with the Galadari family for nearly three decades when he first joined as general manager of the Khaleej Times daily newspaper. His tenure includes serving as the Group Executive Director of Ilyas and Mustafa Galadari (IMG) Group from 2002 to 2011 and currently holding the position of Founding Chairman of K&K Enterprise, a general trading company based in Sharjah.
Prior to his UAE endeavors, Khalil held prominent roles with Mahindra Ugine Steel in India and served as Vice-Chairman of the Jashanmal Group of Companies. He also serves as the Chairman of Maadhyama Communications Ltd., and Chairman of news channel Sahil Online.
Additionally, he has established various media companies and charitable foundations in Dubai and India, demonstrating his commitment to philanthropy.
