The release of ChatGPT free version GPT 3.5 by OpenAI sparked the appearance of other generative large language models (LLMs), such as Google Bard. LLMs are a type of artificial intelligence (AI) trained on a massive dataset of text and code. They learn the statistical relationship between words and phrases to generate responses that are like human-written text. Like ChatGPT, Bard responds to prompts or questions. Bard generates text, translates languages, writes different kinds of creative content, and answers questions in an informative way. As an AI chatbot, Bard is meant to be a rival to the popular ChatGPT. This article introduces Bard, discusses how it can be used in education, and compares it to ChatGPT.
What is Bard?
In February 2023, Google revealed its conversational AI called Bard in response to ChatGPT. Bard was based on Google's Language Model for Dialogue Applications (LaMDA). It uses machine learning and natural processing techniques to generate human-like text responses to various prompts. Bard draws on information from the web to provide direct responses to prompts and questions (Pichai, 2023). When you ask Bard a question or give it a prompt, the model uses its knowledge of the world to generate an answer. The model also uses its knowledge of language to make sure that the answer is grammatically correct and easy to understand. It represents a significant advancement in AI technology creating entirely new ways to engage with information.
How to Use Bard?
Bard was originally available to a limited number of users. It is still labeled as an “experiment,” but it is now available to everyone. To access Bard, go to bard.google.com in a browser and sign in with a Google account. Enter a prompt or question, either by typing or selecting the microphone and talking. Press enter or return and wait for Bard’s response. Once Bard responds with an answer, you receive a set of optional actions: View other drafts to access drafts of the same answer, Regenerate drafts to have Bard attempt another answer, Edit the prompt by clicking the pencil icon, Google It to switch to a standard keyword search query derived from your prompt, Share & Export the response, Copy the content to paste into another application, Report a legal issue to signal a significant content concern, provide feedback with a thumbs up (Good Response) or down (Bad Response) or enter another prompt to continue the chat.
Here are some ways to use Bard (Bard, 2023).
- Answer questions: Bard can be used to answer questions about any topic. It can provide summaries of factual topics or create stories.
- Generate text: Bard can be used to generate text, such as poems, code, scripts, musical pieces, emails, letters, etc.
- Translate languages: Bard can be used to translate languages.
- Write different kinds of creative content: Bard can be used to write different kinds of creative content, such as poems, stories, or scripts.
- Collaborate with others: Bard can be used to collaborate with others on projects.
- Access and process information from the real world: Bard can access and process information from the real world through Google Search and keep its response consistent with search results.
In education, AI can deepen our understanding of information and turn it into useful knowledge.
Bard in Education
Bard has the potential to have a significant impact on education. It could be used to personalize learning, promote active learning, facilitate collaborative learning, and provide access to information. Personalized learning involves identifying the student's strengths and weaknesses, and then creating a plan that focuses on the areas where the student needs the most help. Active learning in the classroom promotes engagement by posing questions to students, encouraging them to think critically and creatively, and helping them to learn by doing. Collaborative learning helps students to work together on projects, share ideas, and learn from each other. Bard provides students with access to a vast amount of information. This could help them to find information on any topic and to learn about different perspectives. Bard has the potential to motivate students to learn.
Bard vs ChatGPT
Both Bard and ChatGPT are large language models trained on massive datasets of text and code. They are both capable of generating human-quality text, translating languages, writing different kinds of creative content, and answering questions in an informative way. Both are still under development, which means they are constantly being improved and are likely to become even more powerful and versatile in the future. Both have the potential to be used on a wide range of tasks. However, there are some differences between the chatbots.
One of the biggest differences between Bard and ChatGPT is the data they are trained on. Bard is trained on a massive dataset of text and code, including scientific papers, mathematical expressions, and source code. This gives Bard a strong foundation in technical topics and allows it to generate more accurate and informative responses. ChatGPT, on the other hand, is trained on a dataset of text from the internet. This gives ChatGPT a wider range of knowledge, but it also means that it is more likely to generate inaccurate or misleading information (Bard, 2023).
Another difference between Bard and ChatGPT is their access to information. Bard has access to the internet, which means that it can always get the latest information. ChatGPT, on the other hand, is limited to the information that was included in its training dataset. This difference in access to information can be seen in the way that Bard and ChatGPT answer questions. When asked a question, Bard will often go out and research the answer on the internet. ChatGPT, on the other hand, will typically rely on the information that it was trained on (Bard, 2023).
Bal Ram and Pratima Verma (2023) found that ChatGPT was better at generating creative text formats, such as poems, code, scripts, musical pieces, emails, and letters. Google AI Bard was better at answering questions in a comprehensive and informative way, even if the questions were open-ended, challenging, or strange.
Summary
Like ChatGPT, Bard is a conversational AI chatbot that can generate text, translate languages, write different kinds of creative content, and answer your questions in an informative way. Give Bard a prompt or ask it a question and the chatbot can answer it in a surprisingly natural and conversational language. Bard can access the internet to leverage Google search for its responses while ChatGPT can only provide historical content gathered through 2021. It is important to note that Google Bard does not use ChatGPT. Bard uses its own proprietary AI technology.
References
Bal Ram, & Pratima Verma. (2023). Artificial Intelligence AI-based chatbot study of CHATGPT, Google AI Bard, and Baidu AI. World Journal of Advanced Engineering Technology and Sciences, 8(1), 258–261. https://doi.org/10.30574/wjaets.2023.8.1.0045
Bard. (2023, August 15). Differences between Bard and ChatGPT. Retrieved from https://bard.google/
Bard. (2023, August 15). How to use Google Bard. Retrieved from https://bard.google/
Pichai, S. (2023, February 6). An important next step on our AI journey. Google. https://blog.google/intl/en-africa/products/explore-get-answers/an-important-next-step-on-our-ai-journey/
Related Scholarly Articles:
Laato, S., Morschheuser, B., Hamari, J., & Björne, J. (2023). AI-assisted learning with ChatGPT and large language models: Implications for higher education. ResearchGate<. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/370535123_AI-assisted_Learning_with_ChatGPT_and_Large_Language_Models_Implications_for_Higher_Education
Meyer, J. G., Urbanowicz, R. J., Martin, P. C., O’Connor, K., Li, R., Peng, P.-C., Bright, T. J., Tatonetti, N., Won, K. J., Gonzalez-Hernandez, G., & Moore, J. H. (2023). ChatGPT and large language models in academia: Opportunities and challenges. BioData Mining, 16(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13040-023-00339-9
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Washington, G. (2023, August 31). Bard – Google’s Conversational AI [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://pedagogybeforetechnology.blogspot.com/
