‘Am I concerned? Yes,’ Google CEO Sundar Pichai talks Bard AI chatbot and promised upgrades

Google CEO Sundar Pichai has addressed concerns over the limited capabilities of the company's experimental AI chatbot, Bard, and has promised that Google will be upgrading it soon. In an interview on The New York Times' Hard Fork podcast, Pichai acknowledged that Bard's current capabilities are limited, but noted that Google has more capable models, including its Pathways Language Model (PaLM), which will bring more capabilities to Bard. Pichai also discussed the concerns over the rapid pace of AI development and the need for caution.

According to Pichai, Bard is running on a "lightweight and efficient version of LaMDA," an AI language model that focuses on delivering dialogue. Pichai stated that PaLM is a more recent language model, larger in scale, and more capable when dealing with tasks such as common-sense reasoning and coding problems. He added that Bard will be upgraded to the PaLM models soon, which will enable it to answer maths questions better and improve its reasoning and coding abilities.

Pichai discussed the concerns over the rapid pace of AI development and the need for caution. He acknowledged that there are risks associated with the development of AI and that many people are concerned about the potential dangers. Pichai noted that he is both concerned and excited about the potential of AI technology and that the fact that so many people are concerned gives him hope that the industry will address the risks associated with AI.

He also confirmed that he was in talks with Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin about the development of AI. He stated that while he never issued the infamous "code red" to scramble development, there were probably people in the company who "sent emails saying there is a code red."

Pichai acknowledged that the rapid pace of AI development has led to concerns about the "dangerous race dynamic" currently in play between companies such as OpenAI, Microsoft, and Google.

“Am I concerned? Yes. Am I optimistic and excited about all the potential of this technology? Incredibly. I mean, we’ve been working on this for a long time. But I think the fact that so many people are concerned gives me hope that we will rise over time and tackle what we need to do,” Pichai said.

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