We Put Google's New AI Writing Assistant to the Test - WIRED

1 year ago
5

🥇 Bonuses, Promotions, and the Best Online Casino Reviews you can trust: https://bit.ly/BigFunCasinoGame

We Put Google's New AI Writing Assistant to the Test - WIRED

One of the first things I noticed is that Duet’s behavior can be inconsistent across Google services. I wanted to finish up a script for friends who will emcee a pre-wedding party filled with competitions, speeches, and musical performances. But the version of Duet in Google Docs wouldn't help me write a description of the well-known drinking game Flip Cup. Nor would it explain Beer Pong. The Duet over in Gmail correctly described both games.  Google via Paresh Dave Behr says that happened because Gmail’s version of the feature is tuned to be less formal than the one in Google Docs, which is more likely to be used in workplaces or schools. The two products have separate teams testing and setting Duet’s boundaries. Now that I was in Gmail, I sought help writing emails to guests who were scheduled to participate in the wedding welcome event. Duet suggested some points I might not have thought to include: “We want you to feel free to be as creative as you want with your roast.” But the overall output resembled something sent by corporate HR and legal departments. The AI-made messages were devoid of my hallmark sentences lacking a verb or starting with “Just,” and they included nary a single emoji . The text generator showed little appreciation for how I or anyone else communicates informally. My partner shrieked in horror when she saw I had sent one of Duet’s drafts to two friends, with only light edits, to see their response. (So far, neither has replied.) Behr says I could have asked for a loose and informal tone in my prompt to the AI writer. Google is trying to figure out how to educate users on tricks like that. “We're effectively building with our customers” in real time, she says.  Pichai’s demonstration at Google’s I/O conference last week featured the writing of a formal refund request to an airline, and I found Duet in Gmail a skilled grumbler. Complaint to consumer protection regulators about event ticketing technology? No problem. Complaint to a shoe maker for soles wearing out too fast? On point. Note to a veterinarian asking for a doggy doctor’s note? Got it. Google has built a formidable complaint machine—an aspect of Duet that will probably spur companies to use generative AI to defend themselves. Google via Paresh Dave For consumers, improvements are already in the works. By the end of this month, Gmail’s text generator will draw on information from past emails in the same thread. The I/O demo showed that a user planning a potluck could generate an email that referenced a planning document shared earlier in the thread. My complaints about shoes or tickets would become more persuasive if the system pulled transaction dates, model numbers, and other info from my inbox. The same button used to summon Help Me Write loads toggles to lengthen, shorten, or formalize either AI-crafted text or your own compositions. Those all work surprisingly well. In Docs, users can even enter their own editing filter, like “Sound more confident!” Gmail has an “I’m feeling lucky” option, which applies a surprise goofy filter to text, like turning it piratical by switching “hello” for “ahoy” and “your” into “yer.” Another time it turned “car” into “flying car.”

#AINews, #ArtificialIntelligence, #FutureOfTech, #AIAdvancements, #TechNews, #AIRevolution, #AIInnovation, #AIInsights, #AITrends, #AIUpdates

Loading comments...