Would you trust the system artificial intelligence to give you answers to important political, social or medical questions, and even one Online a world where the danger of misinformation and extreme polarization lurks? This question may be of concern to more and more people in the near future, as the artificial intelligence element in our online searches… is here to stay.

The debate on this particular issue has been sparked by the recent advent of the artificial intelligence system. ChatGPT startup OpenAI, in which Microsoft investing billions. This new tool has the ability to respond to users in the form of a discussion. In addition, he is capable of writing academic papers and poetry, as well as creating code.

Many were even those who argued that this new tool is likely to threaten his supremacy. Google in the field of Internet search. Accordingly, its parent company Alphabet last week introduced Bard, a chatbot (from the words chat + robot, i.e. “bot capable of talking”), which has similar capabilities to ChatGPT. However, Bard did not get off to a good start as he failed to impress investors, and an inaccurate answer about the James Webb Space Telescope cost the company $100 billion.

Is this the beginning of the end for the term “google” that has become synonymous with online search?

Two AI experts spoke to K about the new challenges that the use of AI will bring to our daily online searches.

The Google Bard announcement tweet included a GIF of an AI chatbot giving an inaccurate answer to a question about the James Webb Space Telescope; GOOG down 8%+ (Martin Coulter/Reuters) https://t.co/m1C4wcZbsr pic.twitter.com/beC1aSaE9B

— TechnoGrinder (@TechnoGrinder) February 8, 2023

Achilles’ heel of Google and competitors

“Perhaps Google hastened to ‘answer’ ChatGPT with Bard,” says Mark Lee, Professor of Artificial Intelligence, Department of Computer Science, University of Birmingham.

Microsoft’s decision to integrate ChatGPT into the Bing search engine was a smart move, he said. He even points out that while Google currently dominates online search, it “has never been good at integrating new technologies,” which Microsoft is superior to.

The professor argues that everything will depend on how well the tech giants will use the element of artificial intelligence. “The one who makes the most correct moves will be the new dominant of the market,” he notes. “Therefore, there is a possibility that Google will lose the lead.”

For my part, Mr. Dr. Jim Phan is an AI expert and researcher at the US company Nvidia.points out the importance of advertising to the profits of the tech giants, saying that even with the integration of AI tools, “it will be possible to add advertising to some of the answers” ​​that chatbots and companies will give, they will not lose their income. from them.

However, as Professor Mark Li points out, the main competitors in the new era of the Internet, which began with the integration of artificial intelligence, will be Google, Microsoft, as well as the Chinese Baidu, which also announced the launch of its own chatbot.

The reliability factor is important

At the same time, it seems that one of the main factors determining competition between companies will be related to the reliability and reliability of the information that artificial intelligence tools will provide.

The misinformation provided by Google’s Bard about James Webb is not the only example of problematic chatbot “behavior”.

“I have definitely seen bugs in many AI tools,” says Dr. Fan. “I tried some of them and they didn’t always give me the right answers. These systems are, of course, constantly updated, and a bug that existed a few months ago is most likely already fixed today. But there will always be problematic elements.”

In addition, on ChatGPT, Professor Mark Lee talks about cases where his answers were accompanied by fabricated academic references. “This needs to be fixed,” he stresses. “I believe there is [ήδη] concerns about fake news on the Internet, and we must be especially careful that artificial intelligence does not make matters worse.”

Why does chatGPT invent fake academic documents?

By now, we know that the chatbot has been known to invent fake academic links. For example, his response to the most cited paper on economics is completely made up (see image).

But why? And how does he make them? THREAD (1/n) 🧵 pic.twitter.com/kyWuc915ZJ

— David Smerdon (@dsmerdon) January 27, 2023

Reliability is a major concern “for both investors and users,” says Dr. Fan. “There will come a time when users will use artificial intelligence to ask questions of a financial or medical nature, and if they get the wrong answers, there will be resentment. I don’t know when we will get to this stage, but all search engines can make such mistakes.”

Bet on pluralism

The second element that is expected to play a critical role in the future of chatbots has to do with whether their responses include a wide range of information and opinions so that they do not contribute to polarizing and reinforcing dogmatic views.

Professor Mark Li notes that this problem already exists in social networks, and points out that with AI, it can get worse.

“If someone asks a question that is difficult to answer, like ‘Was Brexit a good idea?’ There are arguments both for and against. If artificial intelligence can provide us with information so that we can get a global picture, this will be critical for the future: the correct classification of information.”

However, Dr. Fang notes that in complex issues such as political confrontation, it may not be possible to satisfy all users.

“There is a huge field of political, religious and other opinions, and it is simply impossible to cover them all with an artificial intelligence system. So there will always be dissatisfied,” he explains.

A “new chapter” in Internet use

In any case, despite the problematic aspects of AI tools, it is already clear that we are moving into a new era of online search, and this transition is expected to become even more acutely perceived by users in the near future.

“This is an inevitable development,” says Dr. Fan.

“Now people use AI tools mainly out of curiosity. But soon it will become the new norm. We will begin to perceive it as a means of navigating the Internet in the same way that we began to use the verb “google” many years ago,” he adds.

“This is a new chapter,” says Professor Mark Lee. “These tools are starting to take off and will soon become a staple of all search engines.”

However, he argues that everything will be judged on how companies manage the new data, as well as whether they can handle the new challenges.

“The optimistic outlook ‘points’ to more democratic user access to information, while the pessimistic scenario points to increased prejudice and more fake news.”