Google is one of the biggest names in the tech industry, renowned for its innovative products and services that have transformed the way people interact with technology. However, the company recently faced a major setback that resulted in a significant loss in value. Reports suggest that $100 billion was wiped off Google’s market value after its BARD AI keyboard gave a wrong answer to a user’s query.
What is Google BARD?
In order to give consumers a more precise and effective typing experience, Google created the BARD AI keyboard, which is an artificial intelligence-powered keyboard. Unfortunately, in a recent event, the keyboard responded incorrectly to a user’s inquiry, leading to user bewilderment and annoyance. This incident brought up important concerns regarding the accuracy and dependability of AI technology as well as how it affects people’s lives. (Also read: Google welcomes 2023 with a new AI- Google BARD)
The event received plenty of unfavourable press for Google as a result of the swift social media and traditional media exposure it received. Many began to doubt the accuracy of AI technology and its capacity to make life-altering judgements. As a result, Google’s stock price fell, causing the business to lose a staggering $100 billion in value.
Are we heavily reliant on AI?
The event serves as a sharp reminder of the significance of carefully creating and utilising AI technology. It underlines the necessity for businesses to emphasise the accuracy and dependability of AI systems, particularly when such systems are incorporated into goods and services that have the potential to have a significant positive influence on people’s lives. The event also serves as a reminder for businesses to make investments in the creation of AI technologies that can function within moral and legal bounds while producing reliable and accurate results.
In recent years, the usage of AI technology has increased as more businesses incorporate it into their goods and services. Although AI technology has the ability to completely transform the way we work and live, it also comes with a number of serious risks and concerns. Assuring the accuracy and dependability of AI technology is one of the main problems it faces. There may be substantial repercussions if AI technology provides erroneous information or renders the wrong judgement, including injury to people, harm to a company’s reputation, and monetary losses.
What should companies look into?
Before making their AI systems available to the general public, businesses must rigorously test and validate them. This calls for a large investment in research and development as well as the hiring of AI specialists. To make sure that AI technology runs within acceptable bounds and doesn’t hurt people or society as a whole, businesses need also develop clear ethical and legal norms for its usage.
Ensuring that AI technology is transparent and accountable is a crucial aspect of its ethical deployment. This implies that human users should be able to explain and easily grasp the judgements made by AI systems. This is crucial when applying AI technology to fields like healthcare, economics, and justice that directly affect people’s lives.
Should there be rules for AI like the Laws of Robotics by Asimov?
Companies must take into account the social effect of AI technology in addition to these technological and ethical issues. It’s critical for businesses to consider this when creating AI-based goods and services since AI systems have the potential to worsen already-existing societal disparities. An AI system, for instance, may generate biassed conclusions that support current disparities if it is trained on biassed data.
Working closely with subject-matter experts, as well as with governmental and non-profit groups, is crucial for businesses if they want to minimise these dangers and ensure the ethical application of AI technology. This can ensure that AI technology is created and applied in a morally and societally responsible manner.
In essence, the $100 billion loss Google suffered as a result of their BARD AI keyboard serves as a stark reminder of the significance of carefully creating and utilising AI technology. To guarantee that customers have a more seamless, uninterrupted, and most crucially safer experience, businesses should prioritise the accuracy and dependability of AI systems as well as their openness and accountability.
But, food for thought, was this just a bug or an intentional act for branding, just like Tesla’s move of failed testing of their Cybertruck?
