Google’s language model, Bard, is getting a major update today that aims to improve its logic and reasoning capabilities.
Bard Chief Product Officer Jack Krawczyk and Bard Vice President of Engineering Amarnag Subramanya announced in a blog entry.
A leap forward in reasoning and mathematics
These updates are intended to improve Bard’s ability to handle math tasks, answer coding questions, and handle string manipulation prompts.
To achieve this, developers incorporate “implicit code execution”. This new method allows Bard to detect computational cues and run code in the background, enabling it to respond more accurately to complex tasks.
“As a result, it can respond more accurately to math tasks, coding questions, and string manipulation instructions,” the Google team shared in the announcement.
System 1 and System 2 thinking: A mix of intuition and logic
The approach used in the update is inspired by the well-studied dichotomy of human intelligence, as described in Daniel Kahneman’s book, “Thinking, Fast and Slow.”
The concept of “System 1” and “System 2” thinking is central to Bard’s enhanced abilities.
System 1 is fast, intuitive and effortless, akin to a jazz musician improvising on the fly.
System 2, however, is slow, deliberate, and effortful, comparable to performing long division or learning to play an instrument.
Large language models (LLMs), such as Bard, have typically operated with System 1, generating text quickly but without thinking it through.
Traditional calculus aligns more closely with System 2 in that it is formulaic and inflexible, but capable of producing impressive results when executed correctly.
“LLMs can be thought of as operating exclusively under System 1, producing text quickly but without thinking it through,” according to the blog post. However, “with this latest update, we’ve combined the capabilities of both LLM (System 1) and traditional code (System 2) to help improve the accuracy of Bard’s responses.”
One step closer to enhanced AI capabilities
The new updates represent a major step forward in the field of AI language modeling, improving Bard’s capabilities to provide more accurate answers.
However, the team recognizes that there is still room for improvement:
“Even with these improvements, Bard won’t always get it right…this improved ability to respond with structured, logic-driven capabilities is an important step in making Bard even more useful.”
While the improvements are noteworthy, they present limitations and potential challenges.
It is plausible that Bard does not always generate the correct code or include the executed code in its response.
There could also be scenarios where Bard might not generate code at all. Also, the effectiveness of “implicit code execution” could depend on the complexity of the task.
To sum up
As Bard integrates more advanced reasoning capabilities, users can expect more accurate, helpful, and intuitive AI assistance.
However, all AI technology has limitations and drawbacks.
As with any tool, consider approaching it with a balanced perspective, understanding the capabilities and challenges.
Featured Image: Amir Sajjad/Shutterstock
