The A.I. Race: Comparing Google’s Bard and OpenAI’s ChatGPT

“Mark my words, AI is much more dangerous than nukes. It scares the hell outta me”

Elon Musk

Imagine you have a super-smart friend who loves reading books and stories. This friend has such a good memory that he can remember everything he has read! LLMs are kind of like that, but instead of being your friend, they’re special computers that read tons of books, articles, and websites.

ChatGPT is like one of those super-smart books, written by LLMs! It uses what it learned from all those stories and articles to do amazing things like answer your questions, tell jokes, and even write poems. So, ChatGPT is like a special storybook made by all the smartest, reading-est LLM computers!

Remember, LLMs are still learning, but they’re already helping us in lots of ways, and ChatGPT is one of the coolest examples! So next time you see a computer doing something clever with words, it might just be an LLM or a ChatGPT showing off their amazing knowledge!

OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Bard, despite originating from different frameworks (ChatGPT from OpenAI’s GPT-3 and Bard from Google AI’s Pathways), share a common foundation in Large Language Models (LLMs).

ChatGPT was launched on November 30, 2022. And in 5 days it gained one million users. While Instagram took 2.5 months, Spotify took 5 months, Netflix took 3.5 years. When chatgpt was initially launched it supported only the English language but now around or more than 50 languages are supported and it keeps on updating the list. And currently there is a Chatgpt app for both android and IOS.

And after about four months, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman confirmed the release of ChatGPT’s current most powerful LLM, called GPT-4 (Subscription based), in March of 2023. The new large language model joins the prior flagship AI model GPT-3.5, which is now the default for free users.

If you’re like me, you might not opt for ChatGPT Plus since the free version adequately meets most of our current needs.

And on 21st March 2023, Google announced its AI Chatbot Bard — a rival to OpenAI’s ChatGPT but on its initial released Bard made a factual error when responding to a question about the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). A GIF shared by Google shows Bard answering the question: “What new discoveries from the James Webb Space Telescope can I tell my 9 year old about?” Bard offers three bullet points in return, including one that states that the telescope “took the very first pictures of a planet outside of our own solar system.” (Source: The verge). This error seems considerable keeping in mind the beginning of AI but it cost millions of dollars against Google. But google was not easily giving up. 

For the record, Google acquired DeepMind in 2014. DeepMind is a specialized research lab with considerable autonomy, focusing on cutting-edge AI research. Essentially, it’s a research laboratory owned by Google AI, dedicated to pushing the boundaries of artificial intelligence, especially in fields like reinforcement learning and neural networks.

Google Gemini, unveiled on December 6, 2023, marks a landmark in AI. It’s not just powerful, it’s profoundly smart. Think of it as a master chef who juggles complex recipes while understanding every ingredient and utensil. Gemini excels at multitasking across different areas – text, images, code – weaving them into insightful answers and even generating high-quality code itself. Its reasoning abilities surpass human performance in benchmarks, tackling challenging questions with logic and understanding. This multimodal genius empowers Gemini to unlock new possibilities, revolutionizing fields like research and programming. So, how powerful is Gemini? Consider it an AI chef preparing a multi-course feast of knowledge and intelligence, ready to serve up a new era of understanding. Also Gemini comes in the basic to pro version of its model. Sources say it has outperformed GPT-3.5 (the free version of ChatGPT) in widespread testing. According to performance reports, Gemini Ultra exceeds current state-of-the-art results on 30 of the 32 widely-used academic benchmarks used in large language model (LLM) research and development. Insider also reports that, with a score of 90.0%, Gemini Ultra is the first model to outperform human experts on MMLU (massive multitask language understanding), which uses a combination of 57 subjects such as math, physics, history, law, medicine and ethics for testing both world knowledge and problem-solving abilities. (Source: Forbes).

After Google integrated Gemini in Bard, if we have been observant we will identify that AI responses are getting more like humans. Since chatgpt 3.5 is updated only till 2022, it does not give real-time information and the response provided sounds more like AI generated and it’s quite simple to differentiate whether it’s human or Ai generated. But on the other hand, Bard performs and gives real-time data and with the power of Gemini the response is more human generated and its tone seems more realistic and friendly. But not forgetting ChatGPT is not less as ChatGPT 4 can do much more and it even runs real-time and there are premium features which makes it hard for the users to decide which model is smarter or better, and there is rumored about the next version: ChatGPT 5.

This article, restricted to 1000 words, serves as a concept sharing piece on AI, offering awareness on the subject. However, the vast field of AI provides ample opportunities for further exploration.

Boundless possibilities shimmer before us, the future a vibrant canvas begging for our touch. Embrace the age of AI, not with fear, but with open minds and hearts ablaze. We, this generation, stand at the precipice of bridging the gap between silicon and sentience. Let us craft a future where AI paints alongside us, augmenting, not erasing, the human experience. AI is not our destiny; it is the brush in our hands, the palette of possibilities.

Degree of Thought is a weekly community column initiated by Tetso College in partnership with The Morung Express. Degree of Thought will delve into the social, cultural, political and educational issues around us. The views expressed here do not reflect the opinion of the institution. Tetso College is a NAAC Accredited UGC recognised Commerce and Arts College. Currently, the Degree of Thought Column is managed by the Department of Mass Communication, and the editorial team are K.C. Gabriela, Asst. Professor; Dr. Maria Lalmuankimi, Asst. Professor; and Rinsit Sareo, Asst. Manager, IT, Media & Communications.

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