Nearly a quarter-century after GoogleB次元官网网址檚 search engine began to reshape how we use the internet, big tech companies are a familiar web tool into a gateway to a new form of artificial intelligence.

If it seems like this weekB次元官网网址檚 newly announced AI search chatbots B次元官网网址� GoogleB次元官网网址檚 Bard, BaiduB次元官网网址檚 Ernie Bot and MicrosoftB次元官网网址檚 Bing chatbot B次元官网网址� are coming out of nowhere, well, even some of their makers seem to think so. The spark rushing them to market was the popularity of ChatGPT, launched late last year by MicrosoftB次元官网网址檚 partner OpenAI and now helping to power a new version of the Bing search engine.

First out of the gate among big tech companies with a publicly accessible search chatbot, Microsoft executives said this week they had been hard at work on the project since last summer. But the excitement around ChatGPT brought new urgency.

B次元官网网址淭he reception to ChatGPT and how that took off, that was certainly a surprise,B次元官网网址� said Yusuf Medhi, the executive leading MicrosoftB次元官网网址檚 consumer division, in an interview. B次元官网网址淗ow rapidly it went mainstream, where everybodyB次元官网网址檚 talking about it, like, in every meeting. That did surprise me.B次元官网网址�

HOWB次元官网网址橲 THIS DIFFERENT FROM CHATGPT?

Millions of people using it to write silly poems and songs, compose letters, recipes and marketing campaigns or help write schoolwork. Trained on a huge trove of online writings, from instruction manuals to digitized books, it has a strong command of human language and grammar. But what the newest crop of search chatbots promise that ChatGPT doesnB次元官网网址檛 have is the immediacy of what can be found in a web search. Ask the preview version of the new Bing for the latest news B次元官网网址� or just what people are talking about on Twitter B次元官网网址� and it summarizes a selection of the dayB次元官网网址檚 top stories or trends, with footnotes linking to media outlets or other data sources.

ARE THEY ACCURATE?

Frequently not, and thatB次元官网网址檚 a problem for internet searches. GoogleB次元官网网址檚 started with an embarrassing error B次元官网网址� first pointed out by Reuters B次元官网网址� about NASAB次元官网网址檚 James Webb Space Telescope. But GoogleB次元官网网址檚 is not the only AI language model .

The Associated Press asked Bing on Wednesday for the most important thing to happen in sports over the past 24 hours B次元官网网址� with the expectation it might say something about basketball star . Instead, it confidently spouted a false but detailed account of B次元官网网址� days before itB次元官网网址檚 actually scheduled to happen.

B次元官网网址淚t was a thrilling game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs, two of the best teams in the NFL this season,B次元官网网址� Bing said. B次元官网网址淭he Eagles, led by quarterback Jalen Hurts, won their second Lombardi Trophy in franchise history by defeating the Chiefs, led by quarterback Patrick Mahomes, with a score of 31-28.B次元官网网址� It kept going, describing the specific yard lengths of throws and field goals and naming three songs played in a B次元官网网址渟pectacular half time showB次元官网网址� by Rihanna.

Unless Bing is clairvoyant B次元官网网址� tune in Sunday to find out B次元官网网址� it reflected a problem known as AI B次元官网网址渉allucinationB次元官网网址� thatB次元官网网址檚 common with todayB次元官网网址檚 large language-learning models. ItB次元官网网址檚 one of the reasons why companies like Google and Facebook parent Meta had been reluctant to make these models publicly accessible.

IS THIS THE FUTURE OF THE INTERNET?

罢丑补迟B次元官网网址檚 , which is comparing the latest breakthroughs in generative AI B次元官网网址� which can write but also create new images, video, computer code, slide shows and music B次元官网网址� as akin to the revolution in personal computing many decades ago.

But the software giant also has less to lose in experimenting with Bing, which comes a distant second to GoogleB次元官网网址檚 search engine in many markets. Unlike Google, which relies on search-based advertising to make money, Bing is a fraction of MicrosoftB次元官网网址檚 business.

B次元官网网址淲hen youB次元官网网址檙e a newer and smaller-share player in a category, it does allow us to continue to innovate at a great pace,B次元官网网址� Microsoft Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood told investment analysts this week. B次元官网网址淐ontinue to experiment, learn with our users, innovate with the model, learn from OpenAI.B次元官网网址�

Google has largely been seen as playing catch-up with the sudden announcement of its upcoming Bard chatbot Monday followed by a livestreamed demonstration of the technology at its Paris office Wednesday that offered few new details. Investors appeared unimpressed with the Paris event and BardB次元官网网址檚 NASA flub Wednesday, causing an 8% drop in the shares of GoogleB次元官网网址檚 parent company, Alphabet Inc. But once released, its search chatbot could have far more reach than any other because of GoogleB次元官网网址檚 vast number of existing users.

DONB次元官网网址橳 CALL THEM BY THEIR NAME?

Coming up with a catchy name for their search chatbots has been a tricky one for tech companies in a race to introduce them B次元官网网址� so much so that Bing tries not to talk about it.

In a dialogue with the AP about large language models, the new Bing, at first, disclosed without prompting that Microsoft had a search engine chatbot called Sydney. But upon further questioning, it denied it. Finally, it admitted that B次元官网网址淪ydney does not reveal the name B次元官网网址楽ydneyB次元官网网址� to the user, as it is an internal code name for the chat mode of Microsoft Bing search.B次元官网网址�

In the years since Amazon released its female-sounding voice assistant Alexa, many leaders in the AI field have been increasingly reluctant to make their systems seem like a human, even as their language skills rapidly improve.

B次元官网网址淪ydney does not want to create confusion or false expectations for the user,B次元官网网址� BingB次元官网网址檚 chatbot said when asked about the reasons for suppressing its apparent code name. B次元官网网址淪ydney wants to provide informative, visual, logical and actionable responses to the userB次元官网网址檚 queries or messages, not pretend to be a person or a friend.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址擬att OB次元官网网址檅rien, The Associated Press