Head of Google Bard believes AI can help improve communication and compassion: 'Really remarkable'
Artificial intelligence is influencing nearly all aspects of life in 2023.
From education to the workplace to creative endeavors, AI is making its mark on our everyday lives.
Google Bard product lead Jack Krawczyk sat down with Fox News Digital for an interview in New York City recently to discuss how generative AI frontrunner Google Bard has developed to accommodate people’s lifestyles.
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As just one example, Krawczyk mentioned that parents can use Google Bard to snap a photo of their craft drawer — then ask the AI tool what kind of art can be made using the available supplies.
"We start with an idea and Bard gives us the possibilities of bringing it into reality — and that’s super, super fun," he said.
Google Bard recently enhanced its capabilities to support tasks such as travel planning — assistance that can come in handy during the holidays, Krawczyk said.
Mapping out holiday travel using the traditional mode is a two-pronged process that includes making a plan and then "actually doing it," he said.
With generative AI, users can more easily find the most effective ways to plan trips, he said.
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"We recently created something called Bard Extensions, where, with Google Flights, you can say, ‘What are some of the cheapest days to fly?’" Krawczyk said. "And Bard will work with Google Flights to present those possibilities to you."
Once you’ve arrived at your holiday destination, Bard can help with the sometimes daunting task of conversing with family members around the dinner table, said Krawczyk.
The Bard lead suggested using AI to help drive or redirect conversation in potentially uncomfortable situations.
"Let's say it's your first time going to a Christmas holiday with your sibling, who is bringing over a new significant other," he said. "What are some of the ways that I might diffuse this situation? Or maybe some people will say, ‘What are some of the ways that I could test this person?’"
A father of two young children, Krawczyk said generative AI can also be a helpful tool for parents. For instance, it might mean consulting with products like Google Bard about how best to communicate with a child in certain situations, he said.
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"It doesn’t give me the answer — but it helps me explore different ways to talk to my kids," Krawczyk said.
"I imagine and anticipate, as kids get older or as parents have older kids in their home, they're going to continue to experience these sorts of things."
Krawczyk said Google Bard can help people "find the words" in various situations, whether it’s dealing with children or responding to a friend in need.
In one of his examples, someone might enter the following prompt: "I got a difficult note from a friend of mine. How do I respond to them, saying, ‘I didn't feel like you treated me very well in this situation.’"
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"That sort of collaboration with AI is one of the ways that we're seeing it integrate into people's lives," Krawczyk said.
In the future, Krawczyk said Google's language model will evolve into more of an "assistant" that not only considers different perspectives, but also takes action.
Merging Bard with other products like Google Assistant, which helps users with tasks such as sending messages and setting timers, will further enhance tech-assisted living, he predicted.
"Combining those capabilities with Bard helped me explore different ways that I might send a message to my friends that I can't make it to a dinner party — and make it sound apologetic and make it clear that I'm not [skipping it] because I just want to sit and watch Netflix," Krawczyk joked.
"And then be able to say, ‘All right, now send that message.’"
"I think it's going to be really amazing when we take the capability of a language model like Bard and combine it with the ability to do things for you," he added.
Generative AI allows humans to explore ideas "without judgment," Krawczyk also said.
"There's something that's very magical but intimate about an idea," he said.
"We're seeing people turn to Bard and be like, ‘Hey, help me develop this idea so that when I do speak it out loud for the first time, it's a much stronger idea.'"
He added, "I think that's part of what's so amazing about this technology — it allows us to go through a couple of cycles to solidify something real."
A key takeaway for this tech's future, Krawczyk said, is the opportunity to "create new things or explore new ways of doing things, so we can be more compassionate with one another."
He also said, "In a time when the world is going crazy, if we can turn to a tool that allows us to consider alternate perspectives and be more kind to one another, it's really remarkable."
"I'm excited to see how people are able to use Bard to bring their ideas to life."
Dr. Harvey Castro, a Dallas, Texas-based board-certified emergency medicine physician and national speaker on AI in health care, weighed in on Google Bard's capabilities, calling its AI-powered flight extensions a "game-changer" for holiday travel.
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"This will empower individuals to find the best prices, improve the power of Google and combine it with AI," Castro wrote in an email to Fox News Digital.
"It will allow people to better customize what they like and use those preferences to make a better vacation," he said.
Castro also applauded Bard's ability to provide "tailored advice" to support parents in communicating with their children, which the expert tried out with his own 19-year-old son.
"My son told me this was the best conversation I ever had with him," he said. "I could get through to him because I spoke his language."
While calling on AI for these uses can be helpful, Castro reminded users it's crucial to maintain a balance between "leveraging AI assistance and relying on human intuition and experience."
Said Castro, "There are unknown long-term implications of integrating such advanced AI into daily life … The societal, psychological and ethical impacts are still being understood, and it's vital to approach the adoption of these technologies with caution and continuous evaluation."
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