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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Technology
Dan Milmo Global technology editor

Why did Google’s ChatGPT rival go wrong and are AI chatbots overhyped?

Google Bard seen on blog post with Google logo on mobile
Google said the Bard error underlined the need for ‘rigorous testing’ on the AI chatbot. Photograph: Jonathan Raa/NurPhoto/REX/Shutterstock

Google’s unveiling of a rival to ChatGPT had an expensively embarrassing stumble on Wednesday when it emerged that promotional material showed the chatbot giving an incorrect response to a question.

A video demo of the program, Bard, contained a reply wrongly suggesting Nasa’s James Webb space telescope was used to take the very first pictures of a planet outside the Earth’s solar system, or exoplanets.

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