Bard’s mistake wipes out $100bn off shares

Despite the competition for the most advanced artificial intelligence technology, Google is finding ways to assure its customers that it is still on the cutting edge.

The bot answered a question incorrectly in an advertisement showcasing its recently developed AI bot. On Wednesday, a 7% drop in Alphabet shares knocked $100bn (£82bn) off the firm’s market value.

As part of the promotion for the bot, named Bard, which was released on Monday, the bot was asked what to tell a nine-year-old about discoveries from the James Webb Space Telescope.

It offered the response that the telescope was the first to take pictures of a planet outside the earth’s solar system, when in fact, that milestone was claimed by the European Very Large Telescope in 2004 – a mistake quickly noted by astronomers on Twitter.

A presentation describing the company’s plans to deploy artificial intelligence in its products was underwhelming.

Since last year, Google has been under pressure from Microsoft-backed OpenAI’s ChatGPTT software. As a result, it quickly became a viral hit for its ability to pass business school exams, compose song lyrics, and answer other questions.