Did you know that Bard, Google’s answer to ChatGPT, isn’t open to teenagers? If a young predator had a Google account and did not meet the age requirement, Bard was unavailable.
However, in a blog post on Wednesday, Google announced that it’s changing that. Teens of the appropriate age now have access to Google Bard.
Why is Google opening access to teenagers now?
Before giving teenagers access to the Bard, Google wanted to make sure all safety measures were met thoroughly before allowing youngsters to board.
Google Bard
Credit: Google
“We consulted with experts in child safety and development to help shape our content policies and experiences that prioritize safety,” Google’s head of product and AI responsibility Tulsee Doshi said in the blog post.
The search engine giant turned to organizations like the Family Online Safety Institute for advice on how best to raise safeguards for teenagers so they can boldly and brazenly explore the ChatGPT alternative.
Google also shared that it received direct feedback from teenagers about Bard — and they had questions about how to get the most out of their AI chatbot experience. As a result, Google has released resources like their AI Literacy Guide to help teens navigate the generative AI space with knowledge under their belts.
“Turning on will also share an overview of how Bard Activity is being used and give teens the option to turn it on or off,” Doshi added.
What changes did Google make to Bard?
In preparation for the onslaught of teenagers who will use the platform, Google has also trained Bard to detect topics and content that are not suitable for young users. For example, Google has rolled out railings for questions about illegal substances.
Google Bard in action.
Credit: Google
On top of that, Google will automatically launch its ‘double check answer’ feature for teenagers. So when a teenager likes a fact-based question for the first time, the AI will “double-check” its answer with content on the web to confirm its answer before sharing it.
This feature will soon start automatically for everyone (not just teenagers), especially when a new Bard user requests answers to a factual question for the first time.
Google Bard’s expanded access to teenagers will be rolled out starting tomorrow in most countries around the world.
