Google's Bard AI chatbot gets power to code

Google's experimental artificial intelligence tool, Bard, has received new features, including "code generation, debugging and code explanation," as well as the ability to use Google spreadsheet formulas, according to a recent blog post by the company.

The new features became available to users of the AI chatbot last Friday.

Google reported that many users had requested these capabilities, leading the company to add them. The code explanation feature may be particularly useful for beginners or those who need extra support to understand code output, the company said. However, Google also cautioned that Bard is still an early experiment and may occasionally provide inaccurate or misleading information.

Google stated that the updated features will be available for Python, C++, Javascript and over 17 other programming languages. This update comes just a month after Google expanded access to Bard, allowing more US and UK users to start using the chatbot.

As Google competes with Microsoft and OpenAI in the AI space, it is worth noting that OpenAI's ChatGPT chatbot has gained popularity and is now being used by companies such as Expedia, Snapchat and Salesforce.

Despite facing criticism from some of its employees for prioritising business over ethics in its AI development, Google maintains that AI ethics remains a top priority. A spokesperson for Google stated that the company is investing in the teams that work on applying AI principles to their technology.