Google recently announced updates to its AI chatbot, Bard, to support programmers with various software development tasks, such as code generation, debugging, and explanation. The tech giant is launching these capabilities in more than 20 programming languages, including popular choices like C++, Go, Java, JavaScript, Python, and TypeScript.
Bard’s integration with Google Colab eliminates the need for copying and pasting Python code, streamlining the code exporting process. Additionally, Bard can assist users in writing functions for Google Sheets, further expanding its usefulness across different platforms.
The AI chatbot also excels in explaining code snippets for beginners learning programming. In case Bard generates an error message or code that fails to meet user expectations, users can prompt the chatbot to fix the issue, and it will assist in the debugging process. However, Google admits that Bard is still an early experiment and may sometimes provide inaccurate, misleading, or false information with confidence.
Google emphasizes the importance of double-checking Bard’s responses, especially when it comes to coding. The AI chatbot may occasionally produce code that doesn’t yield the desired output or provide suboptimal or incomplete solutions. The company advises users to carefully test and review the code for errors, bugs, and vulnerabilities before relying on it.
Bard’s utility extends beyond coding, as it assists users with everyday tasks like creating presentations, writing lesson plans, inventing new recipes, and planning workout routines. The success of Microsoft-owned OpenAI’s ChatGPT has prompted Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai to establish a unit focused on building more capable AI systems safely and responsibly. This group, known as ‘Google DeepMind,’ will merge two leading research groups in the AI field: the Brain team from Google Research and DeepMind.