The A.I. war has gone from zero to 100 in the course of a week. Microsoft has integrated an upgraded version of OpenAI’s buzzy ChatGPT technology into its search engine Bing and Edge browser. And Google’s new ChatGPT competitor Bard created buzz—and criticism—setting up a battle between powerhouse Google search and second-place Bing.
Google’s new A.I. chatbot Bard had a rocky start, as the tool made a mistake in a recorded demo this week by providing inaccurate information, something ChatGPT and Microsoft’s A.I.-powered Bing have also done, but which is not a good look for Google’s new generative A.I. rival—and which sent Google parent Alphabet’s stock tumbling. But according to Gaurav Gupta, a partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners focused on tech and A.I. startups, dwelling on one Bard mistake could be, well, a mistake. He says it’s hard to tell whether the blunder was a “one off” or a systemic issue, and that “all these models have quirks when they are first released,” including ChatGPT’s technology. They’ll improve the models over time, he predicts. And in the meantime, the big question is how the two A.I. models compare—and which might gain dominance among real users.
