Alphabet’s Google Unveils Bard AI Chatbot for Teens
Google has launched a new version of its chatbot powered by Bard AI specifically for teenagers.
In a blog post, the Alphabet unit (ticker: GOOGL) said access to Bard is open to teenagers in most countries around the world who meet the minimum age requirement to have their own Google account. Teens will initially be able to access Bard in English, with other languages to follow over time.
US users must be at least 13 years old. For other countries, the minimum age is between 13 and 16 years old, depending on local laws.
“Teens can use Bard to find inspiration, discover new hobbies, and solve everyday problems,” Tulsee Doshi, product manager for responsible AI at Google, said in the blog. “For example, they might ask Bard to write tips for a class president’s speech, suggestions on which colleges to apply to, or ways to learn a new sport like pickleball.”
Doshi said in the post that Google was adding “a math learning experience” to Bard. “Anyone, including teenagers, can simply type or upload a picture of a math equation, and Bard will not only give the answer, he will share step-by-step explanations of how to solve it,” she wrote. Bard can solve not only algebraic equations, but also derivatives and integrals, as well as graphing functions.
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Bard also adds other new data visualization features. “Bard can generate graphs from tables or data included in a prompt, as if a teenager asked Bard to display in a bar graph how many hours he had volunteered over a few months,” Doshi wrote .
The company said that before launching Bard to teens, it consulted with experts in child safety and development. Google added that it has “put in place safety features and safeguards to prevent harmful content, such as illegal or age-restricted substances, from appearing in its responses to teens.” .
Google, Meta Platforms (META), TikTok and Snap (SNAP) lost an attempt in federal court this week to dismiss a multidistrict product liability dispute covering hundreds of cases filed by individuals and school districts claiming that social media harms children and adolescents. The companies have denied any wrongdoing.
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Write to Eric J. Savitz at eric.savitz@barrons.com
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