Googleʼs costly mistake
Google's AI-powered bot that is designed to answer queries, known as "Bard," made a costly mistake this week, causing a $100 billion drop in the parent Alphabet company's shares. The incident has raised concerns about the role of artificial intelligence in the stock market and sparked discussions about the need for greater regulation.
The system was asked to tell a little boy, about the James Webb space telescope discoveries. Chatbot described that the telescope was the first one used to take a picture of a planet outside of the Solar system. However, the right answer is that milestone was claimed by the European Very Large Telescope in 2004. The response was unexpected for Twitter experts where it was posted. They noticed wrong information.
The event has raised questions about the reliability of AI in the financial sector, with many experts calling for greater oversight and regulation to prevent similar situations from happening in the future. The failure has also prompted debates about the ethics of using AI in the stock market, with some arguing that such technology could have far-reaching shortcomings for investors and the global economy.
Google published a statement apologizing for the situation and promising to take actions to prevent similar missteps from happening. The company has also announced plans to conduct a thorough investigation into the case to ensure that similar mistakes will not occur again.
In the meantime, Google's shares have recovered some of their value, but the precedent has had a lasting impact on the company's reputation and the confidence of investors. The aforementioned ocurrence serves as a reminder of the need for caution when it comes to AI-powered systems, particularly in the financial sector where mistakes can have far-reaching consequences.
This example of Google has once again brought to light the importance of responsible AI practices and the need for greater regulation in this area. As the use of AI continues to grow, it is crucial that steps are taken to ensure that these systems are reliable, trustworthy, and transparent. Only then we can be sure that AI will continue to be a valuable tool in the financial sector and beyond.
