First Impressions and High-Profile Blunders
First impressions can make or break a product's success in today's fast-paced tech industry. This is especially true in fierce competition between tech giants, where even the slightest mistake can have significant consequences. The latest battle in this war is the merger between Microsoft and OpenAI, which has put Google on edge. The search giant fears that all of OpenAI's products and services, including the robust ChatGPT generative algorithm, could soon benefit from Microsoft's capabilities.
Microsoft's demonstration Leads to a 3% Increase in Share Price.
On February 7th, Microsoft demonstrated the potential benefits of integrating an advanced version of the ChatGPT chatbot into its Edge browser and Bing search engine. The demonstration was a success, convincing investors and causing the company's share price to rise by 3%. This move came just one day before Google's rally, which was seen as a response to the challenge issued by Microsoft.
The Bard Chatbot's Embarrassing Mistake
However, Google's demonstration was not without its setbacks. The Bard chatbot, which relies on the LaMDA language model, made a significant error in a promotional video shown as part of the presentation. The chatbot was asked to explain the discoveries of the James Webb space telescope in terms a 9-year-old child could understand. However, in its list of accomplishments, Bard wrongly claimed that the space telescope was the first to take a picture of a planet outside our solar system. The European Southern Observatory telescope accomplished this achievement in Germany in 2004.
Late to the AI Game and Rushing to Catch Up
According to Gil Luria, a senior software analyst at D.A Davidson, Google has been slow to realize the potential of AI in its search engine and is now rushing to catch up with Microsoft. Unfortunately, this haste has led to the blunder above, causing the value of Google's parent company, Alphabet, to drop by $100 billion. While a Google spokesperson has tried to downplay the incident as evidence of the need for careful testing, this has not reassured investors.
