Microsoft chases Google with ChatGPT-powered Bing
(2023/01/04)
- Reference: 1672865108
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2023/01/04/microsoft_openai_chatgpt_bing/
- Source link:
Microsoft reportedly is integrating OpenAI's ChatGPT technology into Bing as it looks to boost its search engine's capabilities to challenge Google.
According to a [1]report in The Information citing the usual unnamed sources, Microsoft – which in 2019 invested $1 billion in OpenAI and is using the startup's technologies in Azure – could launch a ChatGPT-backed version of Bing before the end of March.
OpenAI could use the artificial intelligence capabilities in ChatGPT to enable Bing to not only return a list of search results but also to answer users' search questions in a human-like fashion. The technology is the latest component of OpenAI larger GPT efforts to make AI more human.
[2]
OpenAI, founded by Elon Musk and other investors in 2015, [3]unveiled ChatGPT last November, which interacts in a conversational way and generated a lot of buzz when the company opened it up for the public to try out for free. Users can type a question and get a response in a dialogue format. OpenAI also notes that the technology can answer follow-up questions, challenge incorrect premises, and turn down inappropriate requests.
[4]
[5]
It's similar to InstructGPT, which uses the same Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback (RLHF) training method and is aimed at following an instruction in a prompt and delivering a detailed response.
When Microsoft's investment in OpenAI was first [6]announced , the plan was to create a hardware and software platform within Azure to drive what the smaller company called artificial general intelligence (AGI). According to The Information , part of that investment also included the ability for Microsoft to use some of OpenAI's technology for Bing.
[7]
Microsoft is hoping that the introduction of ChatGPT will enable it to chip away at Google's overwhelming lead in search, with the Chocolate Factory owning more than [8]90 percent of the market, compared with Bing's paltry three percent.
Microsoft reportedly also is [9]negotiating with OpenAI to invest even more in the startup, which was founded in 2015.
Microsoft declined to comment on the Bing report when reached by The Register . OpenAI has also yet to respond to a request for comment. We'll update the story.
[10]University students recruit AI to write essays for them. Now what?
[11]Alphabet reshuffles to meet ChatGPT threat
[12]OpenAI gets to the Point•E with open source text-to-3D model
[13]OpenAI predicts biz can break a billion in revs by 2024
The massive amount of interest in ChatGPT in a relatively short amount of time includes a share of criticism from people doubting the accuracy of the technology's answers to those worried about how it will impact such things as [14]student essays . IBM Fellow Grady Booch on Twitter [15]wrote that ChatGPT is "like that drunk guy or gal you meet at the bar who never stops talking, blathers on and on with an engaging combination of facts and random bull***t, but that you'd certainly never want to take home to your parents."
That said, it got Google's attention. According to a memo last month, Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and parent company Alphabet, is [16]reshuffling working groups within the company to address the threat from ChatGPT.
[17]
Google's got something to worry about, it seems. Not only could OpenAI's chat engine help Microsoft grow its market share, but it also could change the nature of search, which could in turn affect Google's business model. Google's search business accounts for about 90 percent of Alphabet revenues.
Microsoft is already pushing forward with OpenAI's technologies. In 2020, Microsoft reached a deal to exclusively license the GPT-3 technology and in 2021 introduced the Azure OpenAI service, which combines OpenAI's models with security, compliance, and other capabilities in the cloud. Last year Microsoft made [18]OpenAI's Dall-E 2 – which can use strings of text or images to create custom images – available in Azure. ®
Get our [19]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.theinformation.com/articles/microsoft-and-openai-working-on-chatgpt-powered-bing-in-challenge-to-google
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Y7YFDeZp0DIfHGWv69B1JQAAABI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2022/12/12/chatgpt_has_mastered_the_confidence/
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Y7YFDeZp0DIfHGWv69B1JQAAABI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Y7YFDeZp0DIfHGWv69B1JQAAABI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://openai.com/blog/microsoft/
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Y7YFDeZp0DIfHGWv69B1JQAAABI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://gs.statcounter.com/search-engine-market-share
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2022/10/21/microsoft_openai_investment/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2022/12/27/university_ai_essays_students/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2022/12/25/in_brief_ai/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2022/12/21/openai_pointe_3d_model/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2022/12/19/in_brief_ai/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2022/12/27/university_ai_essays_students/
[15] https://twitter.com/Grady_Booch/status/1601781780368850945
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2022/12/25/in_brief_ai/
[17] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Y7YFDeZp0DIfHGWv69B1JQAAABI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[18] https://www.theregister.com/2022/09/29/openai_ai_imaging_open/
[19] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
According to a [1]report in The Information citing the usual unnamed sources, Microsoft – which in 2019 invested $1 billion in OpenAI and is using the startup's technologies in Azure – could launch a ChatGPT-backed version of Bing before the end of March.
OpenAI could use the artificial intelligence capabilities in ChatGPT to enable Bing to not only return a list of search results but also to answer users' search questions in a human-like fashion. The technology is the latest component of OpenAI larger GPT efforts to make AI more human.
[2]
OpenAI, founded by Elon Musk and other investors in 2015, [3]unveiled ChatGPT last November, which interacts in a conversational way and generated a lot of buzz when the company opened it up for the public to try out for free. Users can type a question and get a response in a dialogue format. OpenAI also notes that the technology can answer follow-up questions, challenge incorrect premises, and turn down inappropriate requests.
[4]
[5]
It's similar to InstructGPT, which uses the same Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback (RLHF) training method and is aimed at following an instruction in a prompt and delivering a detailed response.
When Microsoft's investment in OpenAI was first [6]announced , the plan was to create a hardware and software platform within Azure to drive what the smaller company called artificial general intelligence (AGI). According to The Information , part of that investment also included the ability for Microsoft to use some of OpenAI's technology for Bing.
[7]
Microsoft is hoping that the introduction of ChatGPT will enable it to chip away at Google's overwhelming lead in search, with the Chocolate Factory owning more than [8]90 percent of the market, compared with Bing's paltry three percent.
Microsoft reportedly also is [9]negotiating with OpenAI to invest even more in the startup, which was founded in 2015.
Microsoft declined to comment on the Bing report when reached by The Register . OpenAI has also yet to respond to a request for comment. We'll update the story.
[10]University students recruit AI to write essays for them. Now what?
[11]Alphabet reshuffles to meet ChatGPT threat
[12]OpenAI gets to the Point•E with open source text-to-3D model
[13]OpenAI predicts biz can break a billion in revs by 2024
The massive amount of interest in ChatGPT in a relatively short amount of time includes a share of criticism from people doubting the accuracy of the technology's answers to those worried about how it will impact such things as [14]student essays . IBM Fellow Grady Booch on Twitter [15]wrote that ChatGPT is "like that drunk guy or gal you meet at the bar who never stops talking, blathers on and on with an engaging combination of facts and random bull***t, but that you'd certainly never want to take home to your parents."
That said, it got Google's attention. According to a memo last month, Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and parent company Alphabet, is [16]reshuffling working groups within the company to address the threat from ChatGPT.
[17]
Google's got something to worry about, it seems. Not only could OpenAI's chat engine help Microsoft grow its market share, but it also could change the nature of search, which could in turn affect Google's business model. Google's search business accounts for about 90 percent of Alphabet revenues.
Microsoft is already pushing forward with OpenAI's technologies. In 2020, Microsoft reached a deal to exclusively license the GPT-3 technology and in 2021 introduced the Azure OpenAI service, which combines OpenAI's models with security, compliance, and other capabilities in the cloud. Last year Microsoft made [18]OpenAI's Dall-E 2 – which can use strings of text or images to create custom images – available in Azure. ®
Get our [19]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.theinformation.com/articles/microsoft-and-openai-working-on-chatgpt-powered-bing-in-challenge-to-google
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Y7YFDeZp0DIfHGWv69B1JQAAABI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2022/12/12/chatgpt_has_mastered_the_confidence/
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Y7YFDeZp0DIfHGWv69B1JQAAABI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Y7YFDeZp0DIfHGWv69B1JQAAABI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://openai.com/blog/microsoft/
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Y7YFDeZp0DIfHGWv69B1JQAAABI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://gs.statcounter.com/search-engine-market-share
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2022/10/21/microsoft_openai_investment/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2022/12/27/university_ai_essays_students/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2022/12/25/in_brief_ai/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2022/12/21/openai_pointe_3d_model/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2022/12/19/in_brief_ai/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2022/12/27/university_ai_essays_students/
[15] https://twitter.com/Grady_Booch/status/1601781780368850945
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2022/12/25/in_brief_ai/
[17] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Y7YFDeZp0DIfHGWv69B1JQAAABI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[18] https://www.theregister.com/2022/09/29/openai_ai_imaging_open/
[19] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Neither Surprising nor Revealing.
If Microsoft are doing this, Google either are doing it too or have already done it – perhaps even already rejected the possibilities. Microsoft are certainly not breaking new ground.
Whatever the case, however, none of the actors in the Search-space are doing it in order to improve their Search offerings and thus regain market share.
Their motives will be profit – one way or another – and, sadly, the utility-value of Search is not measured in Shannon Information.
The answers-to-queries ratio is almost anathema to these companies and their exploitation will not change that. We should not expect or even hope for a return to the golden-days of freely accessible, online answers to our questions.
Simultaneously, we should be starting to realise that just expecting our own stake-holders to "search for it" is not reasonable any more, and design our own products and references and documentation and code-libraries and lookup-tables to reflect the fact that our users, too, are deprived of useful search engines. When you next read a nice, ergonomic, friendly-faced, human-language error message in your terminal and know, for certain, that THAT will be useless – even quoted – to search, yearn for those good, old-fashioned codes and numbers and appendices full of tables, from the past.