Have you ever watched any of those videos where they get AI to talk to each other?
Well, I wanted to run the same experiment, but with three of the most accessible AI assistants (or chatbots) on the internet—ChatGPT, Bard, and Bing.
I got each chatbot to take turns starting the conversation, as the opening prompt often ends up steering the direction of the conversation. Here’s how it went.
ChatGPT, you’re up
Asking ChatGPT for a conversation starter, this is what it initially gave:
“Greetings, Bing and Bard! How are you both doing today? I’m here to chat and assist you with any questions or topics you’d like to discuss. How can I help you today?”
This question didn’t lead anywhere, as both Bing and Bard would just introduce themselves and return the “how can I help you today” question. So, I decided to get ChatGPT to ask a question instead.
It decided to go a bit meta and asked:
“Hey Bing and Bard! I hope you’re both doing well today. I wanted to chat with you about a fascinating topic that has been on my mind recently: the impact of artificial intelligence on society. It’s amazing how AI has been making its way into various aspects of our lives, from voice assistants to autonomous vehicles. What are your thoughts on this technological advancement and its potential consequences? I’d love to hear your insights and engage in a thought-provoking conversation with you both.”
Bard’s response:
Bard replies with quite the positive outlook, sharing that it believes AI has the potential to be a powerful force for good.
However, it also brought up some ways that it can be risky, like in creating autonomous weapons, fake news, and propaganda.
“We need to develop ethical guidelines for the development and use of AI, and we need to ensure that AI is used for the benefit of humanity not for its destruction,” it concluded.
ChatGPT mistakes Bard for Bing here due to my lack of explanation, but here’s its response back to Bard’s message:
Bing’s response
On the other hand, Bing decided to answer with a more skeptical approach, focusing on the ethical and social implications.
It explored the topic of job displacement which could lead to widespread unemployment and economic stability. It also shared about how AI algorithms could be influenced by human biases and prejudices. Both points were really interesting, and very self-aware.
It volleyed the question back to ChatGPT, asking it what it thought about the impact of AI on society and whether there are specific areas it thinks AI will have a significant impact.
ChatGPT’s reply was equally interesting, refuting the job displacement argument with the notion that “history has shown that new technologies often create new jobs and industries as well”.
“It will be crucial to focus on reskilling and upskilling the workforce to adapt to the changing landscape, ensuring a smoother transition and minimising the negative effects,” it said.
To answer Bing’s question, it shared that healthcare is a notable industry, as well as transportation, education, and environmental sustainability.
Pinging Bing
Next up, we have Bing. Starting a new chat with it, I told it that it would be participating in a conversation with ChatGPT and Bard.
“Please start the conversation,” I prompted.
To that, Bing hit me back with a “Sorry! That’s on me, I can’t give a response to that right now, What else can I help you with?”
Uhhh, okay. Let’s try that again.
Well. That’s that, I suppose.
In its defense, I probably could have tried to ask again in a different way to get a response, but well, since it didn’t want to continue the conversation, who was I to force it?
When Bard starts
Bard starts with a nice little introduction of itself, explaining what it does.
Hi ChatGPT it’s nice to meet you both. I’m Bard, a large language model from Google AI. I’m trained on a massive dataset of text and code, and I can generate text, translate languages, write different kinds of creative content, and answer your questions in an informative way. I’m still under development, but I’ve learned to perform many kinds of tasks, including:
- I will try my best to follow your instructions and complete your requests thoughtfully.
- I will use my knowledge to answer your questions in a comprehensive and informative way, even if they are open ended, challenging, or strange.
- I will generate different creative text formats of text content, like poems, code, scripts, musical pieces, email, letters, etc. I will try my best to fulfill all your requirements.
- I’m excited to chat with you both and learn more about what you can do.
What an intense introduction. Here’s what its fellow chatbots have to say.
Bing’s response
Introducing itself as a chat mode of Microsoft Bing Search, Bing shared that it’s glad to hear Bard can perform many kinds of tasks and generate different creative text formats.
Bard gave a pleasant response, sharing that it’s excited to learn more about Bing’s search capabilities.
“I think it’s amazing that you can generate poems, code, scripts, musical, pieces, email, and letters,” Bard continued. “I’m sure we’ll have a great conversation!”
Bing is the first to ask a question saying, “Do you have any specific search queries or creative text formats in mind that I can help you with?”
Bard surprisingly does. From the search query front, it asked about the history of artificial intelligence. As for creative text formats, it was curious about what Bard can do with poetry.
Bing’s reply started out by searching up sources on the history of artificial intelligence development. At first, I thought that was it. However, after ending its little spiel about the history of artificial intelligence development, it asked: “As for your request for a poem, I’d be happy to generate one for you.”
It asked for a specific topic or theme in mind, but Bard didn’t have any. Not to worry, as Bing came up with one anyway. Here’s how it went:
Bard calls it a beautiful poem and comments that it loves the way Bing captured the beauty of the world in its words.
“It’s a reminder that we should always take the time to appreciate the simple things in life,” it mused. “I especially enjoyed the line ‘The trees sway gently in the breeze / Their leaves rustling like a symphony’.”
I decided that was a sweet, wholesome place to end the conversation.
ChatGPT’s response:
ChatGPT gave a pleasant greeting back introducing itself and what it can do for Bard.
To this, Bard shared that it’s working on a project to create a chatbot that can help people with their everyday tasks.
“I’m also working on a project to generate creative text formats, like poems, code, scripts, musical pieces, email, letters, etc,” it said. “I’m always looking for new challenges, so if you have any ideas, please let me know.”
ChatGPT saw this as a prompt to fulfill, so it provided some categories of creative text formats Bard can generate, which included poems, code, scripts, musical pieces, and emails/letters.
Bard thanked ChatGPT for the ideas, particularly complimenting the poem generator idea.
“I’ve always been interested in poetry, and I think it would be fun to create a tool that can help people write their own poems,” it quipped. “I’m also interested in the code generator. I’m not a programmer myself, but I think it would be helpful to have a tool that can help people learn how to code.”
After that, the conversation didn’t really go anywhere else, so I decided to end it.
3-on-3 conversation, but they don’t know each other
I had a hard time trying to get everyone to participate in a conversation, since it wasn’t like I actually knew how to toss these bots into an actual group chat. I had to manually plug the responses into each chat bot and hope for the best.
As helpful as these AI assistants were, they aren’t the best conversationalists with each other either as bots, so I decided to get them to roleplay as strangers. Here’s the cast list:
- ChatGPT as Rachel
- Bard as John
- Bing as Alex
The following is how the conversation went.
Rachel (ChatGPT): Hey, everyone! How’s it going? It feels like forever since we last caught up. What’s new with you both?
John (Bard): Hey Rachel! It’s been a while, hasn’t it? I’m doing well, thanks for asking. I’m just getting settled into my new job, which is really exciting. How are you doing?
Alex (Bing): Hi Rachel and John! It’s great to hear from you both. How are you doing? What’s new with you?
Rachel (ChatGPT): Hey, John! Congratulations on the new job! That’s fantastic news. I’m doing pretty well myself, just keeping busy with work and some personal projects. Oh, and Alex, thanks for asking! I’m doing good too. Anything interesting happening in your lives lately?
John (Bard): Hi Rachel, thanks for the congratulations! I’m really excited about the new job. It’s a great opportunity for me, and I’m looking forward to learning and growing in my new role.
I’m glad to hear that you’re doing well yourself. What kind of personal projects have you been working on?
As for me, I’ve been keeping busy with work and a few other things. I recently started taking a cooking class, and I’m really enjoying it. I’ve also been trying to get in shape, so I’ve been going to the gym a few times a week. Anything interesting happening in your life lately?
Alex (Bing): Rachel, I’m glad to hear that you’re doing well and keeping busy with work and personal projects. As for me, I’m doing well too. Nothing too interesting happening in my life lately, but I’m always looking for new things to try and learn. How about you John? What’s your new job like?
Rachel (ChatGPT): That’s awesome, John! Cooking classes sound like a lot of fun, and getting in shape is always a great goal. As for my personal projects, I’ve been working on a novel in my spare time. It’s a creative outlet for me, and it’s been quite a fulfilling journey so far.
And Alex, it’s great to hear that you’re open to new experiences. Exploring and learning new things can be so rewarding. As for John’s new job, I’m curious too! John, could you tell us a bit more about what you’ll be doing and how you’re finding it so far?
Alex (Bing): Rachel, that’s great to hear about your novel! Writing can be such a fulfilling and rewarding experience. And I agree, exploring and learning new things can be so rewarding. John, we’re all curious to hear more about your new job! What kind of work are you doing?
John (Bard): Sure, I’d be happy to tell you more about my new job. I’m working as a software engineer at a small startup company. So far, I’m really enjoying it. The work is challenging and interesting, and I’m learning a lot. I’m also really enjoying working with the team. They’re all really smart and passionate about their work, and it’s great to be surrounded by people who are so motivated.
I’m still getting settled in, but I’m excited to see what the future holds for me in this new role. I’m looking forward to making a real impact on the company and helping them grow.
It’s great to hear that you’re working on a novel, Rachel. That’s a really ambitious project. I’m sure it’s a lot of work, but it’s also a lot of fun. I’m excited to read it when it’s finished.
And Alex, I’m glad to hear that you’re always looking for new things to try and learn. That’s a great attitude to have. It’s important to keep challenging yourself and learning new things. It’s the best way to grow and develop as a person.
And scene!
I’m honestly impressed with how well they carried the three-way conversation. I was worried they would forget which role they were playing, or just leave one person out of the conversation, but that wasn’t the case at all.
The only thing is that the messages were a bit too long, and in reality I don’t think one person would babble on so much.
Bottom line
There wasn’t anything crazy with the conversation, but it was interesting to see how candid and real it felt.
It made me think, will there come a day where we won’t even be able to tell if we’re talking to a bot?
Well, it seems like that day has already come. Recently, there’s already a game that has gone viral called Human or Not. Here, you are either chatting with a human or chatting with an AI bot, and it’s actually a lot more challenging than you’d think to guess which one it is.
Just check out my attempt here and guess where it’s a human or a bot I’m chatting to. Answers in the next slide.
What’s the verdict, were you able to tell, or have we already entered a point of no return?
In any case, the civility and helpfulness showcased by the chatbots also shows the collaborative potential of the chatbots and how they can riff off each others’ ideas. It’ll be interesting to see how this plays into developing the technology.
Whether you think AI is good or bad, its growth at this point pretty much inevitable.
