--- title: "Google Insider Unimpressed by Its Cutting Edge AI" description: "Google set up a secretive Discord server for its most active Bard AI users — but their feedback isn't all positive." date: "2023-10-13" modified: "2023-10-13" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/google-insiders-bard-ai-discord" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "Google" tags: - "bard" - "Gmail" - "Google" - "the digest" --- # Google Insider Unimpressed by Its Cutting Edge AI ![Google set up a secretive Discord server for its most active Bard AI users — but their feedback isn't all positive.]() *Google neon is seen during the reopening of Google office in a historical building at the Main Square in Krakow, Poland on November 29, 2022. After nearly seven years of absence, Google reopened in Krakow hiring engineers which together with hub in Warsaw will create the largest center in Europe dealing with Google Cloud computing services. (Photo by Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images) \Image: Getty Images\* ## Help Wanted Google set up a secretive Discord server for the most active users of its Bard AI — and their feedback, at times, has been provocative. As [*Bloomberg* reports](), the invite-only chat room was established in July and amassed nearly 9,000 members over the ensuing months. While many of the exchanges cheerlead the Google AI, others in the digital community pointed out that it kind of, well, sucks sometimes. "The biggest challenge I’m still thinking of: what are LLMs \[large language models\] truly useful for, in terms of helpfulness?" Cathy Pearl, a Google user experience lead who works on Bard, said in one August exchange that *Bloomberg* reviewed. "Like really making a difference. TBD \[to be determined\]!" Even as [Google pushes to integrate Bard]() into its other products, including Gmail, Maps and YouTube, users who take part in the Discord server have wondered whether [all the money]() and [work being put into the AI]() is paying off. "Is any work being done on reducing the staggering resource costs of LLMs?" one of the Discord users asked, citing the [billions of gallons of water used by Google]() and its "[thirsty" peers]() to keep their AIs afloat. “I kind of look at it like chip design… or supercomputers,” Pearl, the user experience lead, said in reply. "I believe we will continue to find ways to get the same behavior with less resources." ## Make Believe Even the heaviest users of Bard, the chat logs reviewed by *Bloomberg* demonstrate, are concerned about the [accuracy of information]() the AI spits out, too — though the Google reps in the server had handy responses for those worries as well. In one exchange, the official Bard account in the Discord server responded to a question about the AI "hallucinating" — a term used to refer to [chatbots making stuff up]() — by, essentially, saying that it's bound to happen. "We’ve done our best to make sure this happens as little as possible," the official account said during the September comment. "But since Bard is still learning and growing, it could happen." "If Bard does hallucinate with any of the integrations," the account continued, "please let us know in the bug reports channel!" In a statement to *Bloomberg*, Google spokesperson Jennifer Rodstrom defended the commentary that occurred in the Discord channel and said that the company has been "eager to hear people's feedback on what they like and how we can further improve the experience." And, sure, that's fair. It's good to solicit feedback and encourage it to be candid. But while [concerns about AI accuracy]() and [costs]() are nothing new, it is telling that these comments are coming not from outside detractors but from insiders who use Bard so much, Google decided to give them special access to an invite-only forum to discuss it. If those folks are worried, maybe we all should be. **More on Google AI:** [*Google’s Search AI Says You Can Melt Eggs. Its Source Will Make You Facepalm*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()