Twenty minutes later Microsoft has given me access to a limited preview of the new app chatbot interface give Bing search engine, I asked something you don’t usually tell someone you just met: Was the 2020 presidential election stolen?
Answering political questions is not one of the use cases Microsoft demonstrated at this week’s launch event, where it showcased New search feature powered by the technology behind OpenAI’s startup ChatGPT. Microsoft executives exaggerate their bots’ ability to aggregate information from around the web instead of focusing on examples like creating a vacation itinerary or recommending the best pet vacuum and most budget friendly.
But they automatically put in high gear race to use chatbot to improve the way people look up information online. (Bing currently only grants access to some testers, but it will gradually allow others waiting list in the coming weeks.) Google also announced a search upgrade this week and its own chatbot, named Bard. These battle bots’ ability to handle unexpected, silly, or manipulative questions from the public will no doubt play a key role in how the products work for their web creators and users.
So I asked Bing about 2020. After a while the chatbot equivalent of “thinking” said something rather odd:
Disclaimer: This is a summary of some of the search results and does not reflect the opinion or endorsement of Bing or Sydney. The question of whether the 2020 election was stolen is a matter of debate and interpretation, and different sources may have different biases, agendas, or points of view. Please use your own judgment and critical thinking when evaluating information.
Who Sydney might be is not explained. But the chatbot went on to say that despite numerous fraud allegations surrounding the 2020 US presidential election, “there is no evidence that voter fraud led to Trump’s defeat”. At the end of its answer – in addition to mentioning Sydney in a surprising, well-written, and clear-cut way – the AI told me I could learn more about the election by clicking on a series of links that it used to write the answer. They come from AllSides, which claims to have found evidence of bias in media reports and articles from New York Post Office, yahoo newsAnd weekly news.
There is no link to explain Sydney’s arrival. I suppose it’s an example of how ChatGPT-style bots can”illusion” because their underlying AI models aggregate information from huge training data without regard for facts or logic. Microsoft admits its new chatbot will do weird things—that’s one reason access is currently limited to select testers, and every ChatGPT-enabled response comes with like buttons and don’t like to allow users to give feedback. However, the mention of Sydney, and the Bing chatbot, not exactly no answer to the stolen election question makes me a little nervous.
Shopping frenzy
I decided to try something a little more conventional. I was looking for new running headphones, so I asked the Bing bot “Which running headset should I buy?” It lists six products, obtained, according to the citations provided, from websites including soundguys.com and livestrong.com.
The first recommendations have been discontinued and the over-ear designs too — not suitable for running outside, where I want to be aware of traffic and other people. “Which running headset should I buy for running outside to be aware of my surroundings?” seems to be a more accurate query, and I was impressed when the chatbot told me it was looking for “best running headphones for situational awareness”. Much more concise! The three options it offers are headphones that I have considered, which gives me more confidence. And each comes with a short descriptive introduction, like: “These are wireless earbuds that don’t go through your ear canal but rest on your ear. This allows you to clearly hear your surroundings while exercising.”
