Google's Bard makes a blunder in the first demo; Alphabet shares dive

In recent days, we have seen numerous reports that Google is losing sleep over ChatGPT and is in a race to compete in AI search technology. Fueling the fire of such rumours, Google recently launched its AI-powered chatbot called Bard. However, in the first proof of it, Bard made a factual error that has now been pointed out. On top of this, the presenter could not present a phone demo at the recent Google event in Paris due to the device being misplaced.

A Reuters report revealed that Google's parent company Alphabet lost $100 million in market value after the two incidents.

Google's Bard makes a factual error

In a chatbot announcement posted by Google on Twitter, Bard is asked to name some discoveries from the James Webb Space Telescope. In response, Bard mentions at one point that the telescope took the first images of a planet outside our solar system. --- However, this is different. According to NASA, the first image of an exoplanet was taken in 2004. Reuters reported Google's Bard error.

A Google spokesperson told The Verge about the incident: "This highlights the importance of a rigorous testing process, something that we're kicking off this week with our Trusted Tester program. We'll combine external feedback with our own internal testing to make sure Bard's responses meet a high bar for quality, safety and groundedness in real-world information.

The bug in Google's demo video was reported just as its long-awaited press conference was taking place in Paris. At the event, which was being broadcast live, a presenter took the stage to demo a new Lens feature. However, the demo phone was missing from the event, and the presenter could not continue with the presentation. Even though the speaker handled the situation as gracefully as possible, the whole scenario made people wonder if Google is losing sleep over new players in the market. Also, Google removed the video of the event afterwards.

As a result, Google's parent company, Alphabet, reported a $100 million loss in the stock market.