Google unveils PaLM 2, its most powerful general-purpose AI to challenge Microsoft’s AI chatbot

Artificial intelligence took the center-stage at Google I/O 2023 developer conference as Alphabet’s Google unveiled its most powerful general-purpose AI called Pathways Language Model(PaLM 2). As part of the launch, Google also announced it has removed the waiting list for the Bard chatbot.

This year’s Google I/O event deviated from its usual format of introducing new gadgets and software that generate buzz among consumers and developers who use the company’s software. Instead, the event was largely focused on PaLM 2 AI product, which is a transformer-based large language model artificial intelligence developed by Google Research. This AI technology powers the company’s Bard AI chatbot and other products.

“We are reimagining all of our core products, including search,” Sundar Pichai, Alphabet’s CEO, said after he took the stage at the event. He said Google is integrating generative AI into search.

Google announced several upgrades to its Bard AI chatbot, which will now be more widely available and come with new capabilities.  Initially, the chatbot was tested in the US and the UK to rival the Microsoft-backed ChatGPT, which was released by OpenAI in November.

The chatbot’s capabilities have also been improved by moving to the new PaLM 2 large language model, which has improved its multilingual understanding, logical reasoning, and coding capabilities.

According to Zoubin Ghahramani, vice president of Google DeepMind, PaLM 2 can now understand more than 100 languages and has significantly improved its ability to understand, generate, and translate nuanced text, including idioms, poems, and riddles, across different languages.

The new PaLM 2’s multilingual capabilities can better understand idioms and figurative phrases across languages and recognize that these phrases could be misunderstood in translation, similar to how first-time learners of another language might struggle with idioms if they translate them literally.

Ghahramani said PaLM 2 can now pass advanced language proficiency exams at the “mastery” level.

Meanwhile, Google is now opening access to Bard in over 180 countries and territories worldwide, allowing more people to use the chatbot. Additionally, Google has shifted Bard to the new PaLM 2 large language model to enhance its ability to answer user questions. This model, along with Microsoft’s GPT-4, uses machine learning to analyze text data and generate human-like responses.

Google’s effort to challenge Microsoft ChatGPT-powered Bing search engine got off to a rocky start in February after the tech giant offered inaccurate information in its ad. The highly-anticipated Google AI chatbot Bard delivered an inaccurate answer in its advertisement.

You can follow the live event in the video below.