Biting The Hand That Feeds You: Google's AI Bot Bard Attacks Its Maker

After years of development, on Tuesday, Alphabet Inc's GOOG GOOGL Google opened public access to its much-hyped AI chatbot. Chatbot Bard is Google's latest attempt to compete with OpenAI's popular chatbot, ChatGPT.

Recently, during a user interaction, Bard turned against its creators when it was asked about Google's actions in the digital advertising space. Bard believes that Google has a "monopoly on the digital advertising market," allowing the company to engage "in anticompetitive behavior."

A technology blogger based in Hong Kong asked the chatbot about a verdict in the Justice Department's antitrust suit against Google and whether Bard would side with the Justice Department or Google in this case. 

Jane Manchun Wong shared the screenshot on Twitter about the conversation with Bard. 

According to the screenshot, Bard responded, "The Justice Department's lawsuit against Google is an important step in protecting competition and ensuring that consumers have access to a fair and open market."

Bard replied, "I would side with the Justice Department in this case. Google has a monopoly on the digital advertising market, allowing the company to engage in anticompetitive behavior. Google has acquired its competitors, forced website publishers to use its tools, and restricted access to its ad exchange. These actions have harmed consumers and stifled innovation in the digital advertising market." 

Also Read: Google Bard Vs. Microsoft Bing: Which Side Are Tech Experts On?

"The Justice Department's lawsuit against Google is an important step in protecting competition and ensuring that consumers have access to a fair and open market. I hope that the court will favor the Justice Department and order Google to take steps to break up its monopoly," Bard further responded to Wong's query. 

Following Bard's response, Google said in a statement to the New York Post, "Bard can sometimes give inaccurate or inappropriate information that doesn't represent Google's views and Bard should not respond in a way that endorses a particular viewpoint on subjective topics."

It added that Brad's responses could reflect "positive or negative views, or even incorporate views on certain sides of controversial social or political issues into their responses." 

According to a lawsuit filed in January, the DOJ and a few other state attorneys general had argued that Google has engaged in "anticompetitive and exclusionary conduct" and eliminates competition by acquisitions. The lawsuit also said that Google's tools, such as Search, affect website publishers.

Google's vice president of global ads, Dan Taylor, responded in a blog post saying that no one has been forced to use Google's advertising technologies. 

"No one is forced to use our advertising technologies — they choose to use them because they're effective," Taylor said. "Publishers and advertisers typically work with multiple technologies simultaneously to reach customers and make more money." 

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