Google's Response To OpenAI and ChatGPT is Coming, And They've Named It...

The increasing number of users of ChatGPT made it necessary for other tech giants, such as Google, to develop their very own conversational AI tools in order to maintain their position as leaders in the AI race, and keep their investors interested.

We now have the first details on the product Google refers to as "Bard" and will offer in the near future.

It's Official - Google Bard Does Exist...

In a post on the company's official blog, Google's CEO Sundar Pichai revealed that the Language Model for Dialogue Applications, abbreviated as LaMDA, from which Bard is derived is a more lightweight version than the original.

This is done to ensure that it does not demand a significant amount of computational power in order to allow for a greater number of people to use it. Pichai also claims that work on Bard started quite some time ago, and that the company is now making the application available to "trusted testers" so that they can evaluate it.

As Google describes it, Bard is an experimental conversational AI tool that, similar to Google Search, may be used to obtain information on a wide variety of subjects. The distinction is that rather than just providing a list of article links, more nuanced answers are anticipated. This is extremely similar to the way in which Microsoft intends to include ChatGPT into Bing.

The Bard AI tool will pull material from the internet and then, by utilizing the LaMDA powers, it will give 'new, high-quality responses.' They may also include explanatory articles on more complicated subjects. "Bard can be an outlet for creativity and a launchpad for curiosity," said Google executive Sundar Pichai. "It can help you explain new discoveries from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope to a 9-year-old, or learn more about the best strikers in football right now, and then get drills to build your skills."

Much is still unknown...

Google also hints that it will offer AI-powered features in Search (most likely by integrating Bard into Search), which would enable access to information about the question in a format that is easy to comprehend and will also contain multiple points of view. In the blog post, there is a screenshot that demonstrates how the artificial intelligence responds to the question "which is easier to learn, a guitar or piano?" by providing thorough information of its own before listing articles.

We don't know very lot about Bard at this point, and we are waiting for Google to provide us with accurate details. In the following weeks, it is anticipated that it will reach a greater number of people, and until that happens, Google will use feedback from both the outside and inside to make sure that Bard is a safe and high-quality product.

It is yet unknown how effectively it will compete with ChatGPT and how the availability component will operate. A commercial version of ChatGPT with additional functionality is also available in addition to the free version.


-----------
Author: Alex Benningram
Tech News CITY // New York Newsroom

Read More

Text To MUSIC? Google Creates AI Bot That Writes Music Based on Text Descriptions...

Google's AI technology has the potential to compose original music. The release of OpenAI's ChatGPT to the public last year sparked widespread interest in AI's capabilities; the tool has proven its great potential in content creation when given only brief instructions. Google's AI chief recently stated that his company had similar tools to Meta's, and Meta's AI head confirmed this when asked about ChatGPT.

A musical composition bot

Now, Google seems to be developing a robot that uses AI to compose "original" songs in response to written and aural cues. Business Insider reports that the bot could take into account different musical styles and even compose music from a hummed or whistled theme. The name "MusicLM" has been given to this potential future app.

Google's AI bot was detailed in a research report published on January 26. The paper referred to MusicLM as a "model generating high-fidelity music from text descriptions" that "generates music at 24 kHz that remains consistent over several minutes."

Google, for instance, provides an example of a musically-inspired prompt with elaborate textual detail: "The game's main theme song. It has a catchy electric guitar riff and a quick tempo. The tunes are catchy and simple to memorize, but they also feature some unusual elements, like sudden cymbal crashes or drum rolls."

It was suggested in another prompt that - "A rising synth plays an arpeggio with lots of reverb. Pads, a deep bass line, and gentle drumming provide the accompaniment. The synthesized tones in this tune make for a relaxing and exciting listen. Two songs at a festival might be used to set the stage for it." You may listen to the demos on Google's GitHub.

Google's artificial intelligence music maker doesn't appear to be coming out for public use anytime soon. Before such tools can be released in their full glory, there are a lot of problems that need to be addressed, including the ethics of such AI and the harm to human artistry.

---------

Author: Don Kennedy
Austin Newsdesk 

Read More

Sony & Honda Team Up and Target TESLA with an Electric Vehicle of Their Own...

 

We're learning more about the concept behind Sony and Honda forming an alliance to launch a new Electric Vehicle, called "Mobility".

The focus: Entertaining those inside the vehicle, while the car handles the driving...

Cars will soon feel like hanging out in a room on wheels, as automated driving will remove the need for a driver to be focused on the road, as well as the need for passengers to not distract the driver. 

As a child, you may have had a parent raise their voice once or twice with a lecture about how "important it is not to distract the driver" as you and a sibling or friend forgot you were in the back seat of a car and began to get a little too rowdy "so sit still, we'll be there soon" the adult would end with.

But soon, rowdy kids in the back seat of car will transition from a potential danger to everyone on the road, to nothing more than 'annoying' to the adults who have to share a vehicle with them.  Parents will demand the family "sit still, we'll be there soon" but can now skip the lecture about distracting the driver - they'll be annoyed that the kids are making it hard to watch their movie or something.

Sony and Honda have made it clear they imagine a very similar future...

We learned this week they are considering integrating the Playstation 5 into its upcoming EVs, which are due to be released under their new joint venture.

The president of Sony Honda Mobility, Izumi Kawanishi, says that Sony’s strength in the entertainment and gaming industry is something the company plans to use to its advantage.

"Sony has content, services and entertainment technologies that move people ...this is our strength against Tesla" said Kawanishi.

When could we seen these on the road? Well, the project is open about the very early phase they are currently in, saying they "will have to evolve considerably" until the ideas become a functional vehicle ready for the public roads.

--------
Author: Takashi Iccho
Tokyo Newsroom | TechNewsCITY

Read More

Apple’s Reasoning Behind their Decisions on USB-C Charging Ports and Privacy Issues...

 

Apple is currently at the center of two things in tech that are facing some changes: privacy rights that have shaken the digital ad market, and Europe’s move toward a standard charging method for devices.

From WSJ’s Tech Live conference, Apple executives Craig Federighi and Greg Joswiak answer questions on these topics.


Video courtesy of the Wall Street Journal

Read More