Bard the Google AI is just as silly as the other AI programs

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the performance of Bard, Google's AI, in retrieving academic papers. Users reported that Bard provided incomplete and outdated information, listing only five papers by a PhD supervisor, with none published after 1975. Despite correcting itself when informed of the supervisor's current status, Bard's initial inaccuracies raised concerns about its reliability. The conversation highlights the importance of formulating precise queries to achieve better results from AI systems.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of AI language models, specifically Google Bard
  • Familiarity with academic research and publication processes
  • Knowledge of effective questioning techniques for AI
  • Basic awareness of the limitations of AI in factual accuracy
NEXT STEPS
  • Research Google Bard's latest updates and improvements
  • Explore techniques for crafting effective prompts for AI
  • Investigate common limitations of AI in academic contexts
  • Learn about alternative AI tools for academic research, such as Semantic Scholar
USEFUL FOR

Researchers, academics, and anyone interested in leveraging AI for academic purposes will benefit from this discussion, particularly those seeking to understand the limitations and capabilities of AI tools like Google Bard.

DrJohn
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TL;DR
Reported someone as dead, claimed he died in 1975, but was still publishing in 1980
So I got an invite to try Bard, Google's AI machine.
I asked it to list research papers by my PhD supervisor in the area we had worked on. It listed just five (clearly a very small subset) with none published after 1975.

So I asked again but this time asked for papers after 1975. Again it listed only five papers, a small subset that went up to 1980.

Then it said that he had passed away in 1975 and that the papers it had just listed had been published before he died, in 1975. Strange given that there was one for each year of 1976 - 1980.

When I pointed out my old supervisor was still alive, it apologised and told me he was alive, and listed correctly his current status and which Uni he was working at (I checked and it was correct this time).

Looks like Google is having the same problems with lying about the living and the dead. Anyone else tried Bard yet? Any better results than mine?
 
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For a laugh, just in case I had died too and not noticed, I asked it if I had published any papers in the field I had researched. It replied listing only three papers, all with the wrong title ! and one in the wrong journal but with the correct page number!
 
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For better answers just as in this forum, one needs to make a better question and focus on assumptions and context. Yet for elementary common sense only a few words are needed. likewise, We can’t blame professors for wrong answers but they would not make such obvious faux pas, yet it may have perfect spelling and syntax.

It’s not perfect, nor am I.
 
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