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Google just launched Bard, its answer to ChatGPT

technologyreview.com

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Re: Google just launched Bard, its answer to ChatGPT

#41

Post by _flux »

matwood wrote: post #16
kryptiskt wrote: post #14

I don't think Google will win this race, not because they lack the technical expertise, but because they are too cheap. This is so telling: "We’re releasing it initially with our lightweight model version of LaMDA. This much smaller model requires significantly less computing power, enabling us to scale to more users, allowing for more feedback" They are richer than Croesus, that is no reason for them to hold back an…

Indeed. I asked Bard why it wasn't as chatty at Bing or chatgpt and this was the response. > I am still under development, and I am not as chatty as ChatGPT or Bing Chat because I have not been trained on as much data. I am also not as good at understanding and responding to complex questions. However, I am learning and improving every day, and I will become more chatty over time.

Do you believe it was sharing a fact?

My understanding is that producing shorter responses proportionally reduces the amount of computing—and thus the cost—required to produce it.

Re: Google just launched Bard, its answer to ChatGPT

#42

Post by foldedcornice »

SimianSci wrote: post #32

Google looks to be caught in an innovator dilemma. They can’t roll out a good chat system comparable to its competitors because it directly competes with their core revenue stream of search. From my angle, LLM’s are the next big step in search. If the company whose core business revolves around search can’t update their product to meaningfully compete with their competitors who view search as a side business, it shou…

This observation made me re-interpret the motivation behind Zuckerberg's attempt to start the "metaverse."

If Meta's core business of advertising on social media becomes irrelevant, his company is in trouble. But if the company is already the leader of the technology that replaces social media—e.g. connections over VR—the company can remain a leader and keep growing.

Zuckerberg might be wrong that the "metaverse" is the next step (it absolutely feels more manufactured than a natural next step like with ChatGPT), but I see why he might want to get ahead of his core business losing its value to a new innovation—such as by releasing VR headsets and encouraging people like journalists to consider VR meetings.

In contrast, the Bard release is more reactive, rather than a release that takes the initiative to introduce a new technology.

Re: Google just launched Bard, its answer to ChatGPT

#43

Post by goldfeld »

jsnell wrote: post #30
kryptiskt wrote: post #14

I don't think Google will win this race, not because they lack the technical expertise, but because they are too cheap. This is so telling: "We’re releasing it initially with our lightweight model version of LaMDA. This much smaller model requires significantly less computing power, enabling us to scale to more users, allowing for more feedback" They are richer than Croesus, that is no reason for them to hold back an…

You're making the assumption that quality is the only feature that matters, rather than it being a multi- dimensional tradeoff where we don't know at all what tradeoffs consumers actually prefer. For example, a smaller model will run faster, right? At this exact moment, ChatGPT is giving me about a word every 2-3 seconds. It's basically useless. But even when the system is not overloaded, there's a noticeable delay.…

Basically useless? I use it to write articles for me[0], hardly could a human turn text around as fast, and I both do not pay it nor owe it anything. It could be slower still, and if you went back just 5 years to 2018 it would seem a miracle to our past selves, just for the quality output.

[0]: https://generativereview.substack.com/p/the-generative-revie...

Re: Google just launched Bard, its answer to ChatGPT

#44

Post by insane_dreamer »

Since these GPT chatbots (Bing or Google) are likely to take a large dent out of search, I wonder how Google will monetize it. Google gets most(?) of its revenue from AdWords and similar paid rankings, but it seems having Bard give answers that promote companies that paid for placement would be problematic (unless somehow transparent to the user). Maybe they'll end up having a box next to Bard's reply with a list of paid links that are relevant to the question asked. If Google doesn't figure it out, they're going to be in a world of trouble. Microsoft is in a better position since Bing isn't such a large part of its revenue stream.

This also makes me wonder whether Apple will come out with its own LLM chatbot which could be its opportunity to wean itself off Google.

And if Meta manages to successfully integrate its LLM into its products FB, IG, etc., then it keeps users there for web searches.

Either way, Google's future looks precarious right now.

Re: Google just launched Bard, its answer to ChatGPT

#46

Post by insane_dreamer »

jsemrau wrote: post #34
kryptiskt wrote: post #14

I don't think Google will win this race, not because they lack the technical expertise, but because they are too cheap. This is so telling: "We’re releasing it initially with our lightweight model version of LaMDA. This much smaller model requires significantly less computing power, enabling us to scale to more users, allowing for more feedback" They are richer than Croesus, that is no reason for them to hold back an…

Rather it's because one can't be sure that the product still exists in 24 months

I'm pretty sure that GPT powered bots are here to stay -- this is not like Google+

Re: Google just launched Bard, its answer to ChatGPT

#47

Post by radiKal07 »

kryptiskt wrote: post #14

I don't think Google will win this race, not because they lack the technical expertise, but because they are too cheap. This is so telling: "We’re releasing it initially with our lightweight model version of LaMDA. This much smaller model requires significantly less computing power, enabling us to scale to more users, allowing for more feedback" They are richer than Croesus, that is no reason for them to hold back an…

[flagged]

Re: Google just launched Bard, its answer to ChatGPT

#48

Post by josefresco »

insane_dreamer wrote: post #44

Since these GPT chatbots (Bing or Google) are likely to take a large dent out of search, I wonder how Google will monetize it. Google gets most(?) of its revenue from AdWords and similar paid rankings, but it seems having Bard give answers that promote companies that paid for placement would be problematic (unless somehow transparent to the user). Maybe they'll end up having a box next to Bard's reply with a list of…

> I wonder how Google will monetize it.

Just like they do now! Show ads alongside the "results". It's website owners who don't advertise who fill feel the pain if Google stops sending people to them and instead keeps them on Google.com/Bard or whatever.

Re: Google just launched Bard, its answer to ChatGPT

#49

Post by XorNot »

insane_dreamer wrote: post #44

Since these GPT chatbots (Bing or Google) are likely to take a large dent out of search, I wonder how Google will monetize it. Google gets most(?) of its revenue from AdWords and similar paid rankings, but it seems having Bard give answers that promote companies that paid for placement would be problematic (unless somehow transparent to the user). Maybe they'll end up having a box next to Bard's reply with a list of…

"you are a chatbot. You are to check the following list of ads for relevant matches and provide those first before any other answers."

Re: Google just launched Bard, its answer to ChatGPT

#50

Post by mv4 »

SimianSci wrote: post #32

Google looks to be caught in an innovator dilemma. They can’t roll out a good chat system comparable to its competitors because it directly competes with their core revenue stream of search. From my angle, LLM’s are the next big step in search. If the company whose core business revolves around search can’t update their product to meaningfully compete with their competitors who view search as a side business, it shou…

Google needs to re-invent search, or someone will do it for them.
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