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Google Bard just took a big step toward being a proper ChatGPT rival
The Google Bard AI chatbot can now complete various programming and software development tasks such as code generation, code debugging, and explanation of code.
This was an important missing feature in Bard’s ability to compete with ChatGPT, the most popular AI chatbot right now.
Google announced the update of Bard on Friday on its blog, stating that it has been one of the primary requests from users since the launch of the AI chatbot in March. Bard can assist with generating, debugging, and explaining over 20 different programming languages including C++, Go, Java, Javascript, Python, and Typescript. It can also export Python code to Google Colab without needing to copy and paste, as well as aid in writing functions for Google Sheets.
Google noted an especially helpful part of the Bard update is its ability to explain parts of code to used, stating it might be helpful for those who are new to programming, or if someone is stuck on a particularly difficult block of code.
When it comes to debugging, if you get an error with Bard, you need only input this code didn’t work, please fix it, and the chatbot will assist in correcting the defective code. Google noted that Bard can even debug code that it developed.
As a project still in its early experimental phase, Google notes that Bard might produce information that is inaccurate, misleading, or false. It encourages users to double-check the chatbot’s responses and test for errors, bugs, and vulnerabilities before using it for any independent works. Even so, the brand is confident that Bard’s new coding capabilities can be beneficial in assisting users in their own projects.
Google said other tips include the prompt could you please make that code faster. Another easy prompt to use is find error handling clauses you might have missed.
Bard was released as Google’s chatbot rival to OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which is also the power behind Microsoft’s Bing chat. While Bard has similar functions to ChatGPT, a report from Bloomberg indicates that some Google employees have little faith in the chatbot and feel that the project was rushed to launch in an effort to compete with OpenAI and Microsoft.
Notably, code debugging and code generation were some of the many interesting tasks users showcased on ChatGPT when the chatbot first became popular. However, the tool has its own challenges, such as high-traffic and capacity issues. OpenAI is also struggling to keep up with the costs that it takes to maintain its operations.
With Google’s latest update of Bard, this could be an opportunity for the brand to grab the attention of those interested in a specific niche of generative AI tools and use the ever-changing landscape to its benefit.
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Fionna Agomuoh is a technology journalist with over a decade of experience writing about various consumer electronics topics.
In addition to computing, she specializes in smartphones and the Android operating system. She runs the blog TechieSupreme.com where she primarily follows these topics.
Fionna’s freelance work is published at Lifewire.com, GearBrain.com, Online-Tech-Tips.com, TomsHardware.com, Refinery29.com, Mozilla.org, Digital.com, and PopularMechanics.com. She has also previously worked on staff at Newsweek Media Group, and Business Insider.
Fionna lives in Brooklyn, New York where she enjoys exploring the city, finding new cocktail lounges, and planning her next trips.
Google Bard vs. ChatGPT: which is the better AI chatbot?
Google Bard and ChatGPT are two of the most prominent AI chatbots available in 2023. But which is better? Both offer natural language responses to natural language inputs, using machine learning and millions of data points to craft useful, informative responses. Most of the time. These AI tools aren’t perfect yet, but they point to an exciting future of AI assistant search and learning tools that will make information all the more readily available.
As similar as these chatbots are, they also have some distinct differences. Here’s how ChatGPT and Google Bard measure up against one another.
The best AI chatbots to try out: ChatGPT, Bard, and more
The idea of chatbots has been around since the early days of the internet. But even compared to popular voice assistants like Siri, the generated chatbots of the modern era are far more powerful.
Yes, you can converse with them in natural language. But these AI chatbots can generate text of all kinds, from poetry to code, and the results really are exciting. ChatGPT remains in the spotlight, but as interest continues to grow, more and more rivals are popping up to challenge its crown.
ChatGPT
I brought ChatGPT to the board game world. Is it ready for game night?
We all know that ChatGPT is great at speeding up mundane tasks. What could be drier than explaining the rules of a complicated game at board game night?
There’s no substitute for just knowing the game, but being able to reach for AI instead of the rulebook could make things a whole lot easier. Nothing derails a great game of Twilight Imperium like breaking out the Living Rules and endlessly scrolling. So, if I were to bring ChatGPT to board game night, I could definitely see it coming in handy. But before I subjected my friends to a robot reading them the rules, I decided to test it out with some basic questions to see if it was up to snuff.
A defined ruleset sounds ideal
I have no idea why ChatGPT knows the rules of so many games, but it does. Or at least thinks it does. While it might be tricky to find an online manual for some of my collection, ChatGPT seems to have it all — some of those billions of data points it was trained on reportedly included the errata for something as obscure as the third Battlestar Galactica expansion.
