Google UK Boss Urges Caution: Don’t Rely Solely on Bard

Google unveiled its AI tool, Bard, in February as an alternative to traditional search. But reliability issues have cropped up with the product. A disclaimer on the homepage of its search engine says a user may get answers that aren’t entirely correct. Google UK Managing Director Debbie Weinstein said users shouldn’t rely on Bard for trustworthy information and should check results against the traditional search engine.

18 current and former Googlers wrote in an April report that they had raised concerns about Bard’s responses. The chatbot focused on low-quality info to stay competitive, the employees said, as it compromised their ethical commitments. And contract workers responsible for training Bard reported feeling overworked, underpaid, and stressed while reviewing answers on diverse subjects like medicine and law.

In a letter to Congress, one contractor raised these issues saying that Bard could become a dysfunctional and hazardous product due to the pressure of tight review deadlines. The report said that these contract workers were receiving as much as USD 14 an hour for their work.

In the wake of challenges and criticisms, Google strives to counter Bard’s shortcomings as well as regain users’ lost faith in reliable and accurate information.