Alphabet’s shares fell sharply after the recently announced Bard search bot spread false information in an advertisement. Reuters reports.
At one point, the company’s stock fell 9%. By the close of trading, the shares were at $99.37.
In the promotional material, the conversational AI was asked: “What can I tell a 9-year-old about the James Webb Space Telescope’s discoveries?” Among several responses Bard wrote that the spacecraft first photographed a planet outside the Solar System.
But in fact, the exoplanet was first photographed by the Very Large Telescope of the European Southern Observatory in 2004.
Following the discovery of the error, a Google spokesperson said the incident underscores the importance of “a rigorous testing process”.
“We combine external feedback and internal testing to ensure that responses meet high standards of quality, safety and truthfulness,” the company said.
Experts also believe that the fall in Alphabet’s market value was linked to unmet investor expectations from presentation in Paris. Google unveiled a range of new features for its services, but did not disclose details about the Bard chatbot.
Shares in Microsoft rose by 3% shortly after the event.
Earlier in February, Google introduced conversational AI Bard. The company plans to integrate the chatbot into its search service.
The following day, Microsoft demonstrated integration of ChatGPT into the Bing service.