Google Bard AI update adds highly-requested features & more control
Adobe Firefly/GoogleThe Google AI bot, Bard, has received a substantial new update that brings more controls and options for users worldwide.
Google Bard, the company’s ChatGPT competitor has received a new update that brings a little more control to the user. Google has also said that Bard can now speak 40 different languages, including Hindi and Spanish. When we say speak, that’s both via text and in the new text-to-speech option.
OpenAI’s ChatGPT can’t yet use text-to-speech out of the box, though some users have found workarounds. Bard is one of the first AI chatbots to include text-to-speech baked into the webpage.
Bard’s new controls allow users to skip over various drafts to find the correct answer or rewrite their prompt to get the desired result. In our testing, we found that while the feature works, it does take some finesse to get the desired results.
The five options are:
- Make things shorter
- Make things longer
- Add a casual flair to the response
- Add professionalism
- Make things simpler
One of the biggest new features includes being able to upload images to Bard. Google has implemented its “Lens” tech into the AI, allowing it to use images as a base for a response. This includes being able to read text in an image to transcribe it or describe an image.
Google updates Bard as it faces backlash over training methods
UnsplashGoogle is currently facing a class action lawsuit over its training methods of Bard and AI. The lawsuit claims that the firm is scraping the web in its entirety to get the most accurate language model available:
“Google does not own the internet, it does not own our creative works, it does not own our expressions of our personhood, pictures of our families and children, or anything else simply because we share it online.”
Bard is also at the center of a new Bloomberg report, that details poor working conditions for the staff behind the bot. According to Bloomberg, staff are becoming frustrated with the time limits on reviewing content submitted to Bard to ensure Google doesn’t create a menace.
