Googlers criticize CEO Sundar Pichai; call Bard launch 'rushed,' 'botched'
Google recently introduced Bard, its answer to ChatGPT. However, things haven't gone the way the company hoped. A half-cooked AI event and a demo that cost the company $100 billion in valuation have led to questions about Google's preparedness regarding Bard. Per CNBC, many Googlers are now questioning and mocking the way the company handled its chatbot's launch.
Why does this story matter?
Google was reluctant to launch its AI tool without being sure about its abilities. However, OpenAI's ChatGPT's success forced the company to play its hand. More than ChatGPT's success, Microsoft's interest in the chatbot worried Google. As a result, the tech giant went ahead and launched Bard. What was meant to be the answer to ChatGPT has now raised many questions.
Some employees weren't aware of the AI event
A day before Microsoft announced ChatGPT-powered new Bing, Google CEO Sundar Pichai divulged some information about Bard. This meant that people expected to hear more during the company's AI event in Paris. However, the event had 'unpreparedness' written all over it. Some employees reportedly weren't even aware of the event. To make it worse, a presenter forgot to bring their phone for the demo.
Failed Bard demo cost Google $100bn in valuation
Meanwhile, Reuters pointed out a factual error in a Bard demo Google posted on February 7. The chatbot answered a question about the James Webb Space Telescope incorrectly. This led to an influx of mockery targeting Bard and Google. It also led to the market losing its belief in Google, denting its valuation by $100 billion. The disastrous demo invited criticism from Google employees.
Googlers are taking a dig at Pichai and company's leadership
According to CNBC, many Googlers are calling the Bard launch "rushed" and "botched" across the company's internal message boards. There are many memes in circulation targeting Pichai and Google's leadership. In a heavily upvoted meme with a serious picture of Pichai, one user wrote, "Dear Sundar, the Bard launch and the layoffs were rushed, botched, and myopic."
Employees gave Pichai and leadership the lowest score
One employee used Google's new performance review system to mock the company's leadership. "Sundar, and leadership, deserve a Perf NI," they wrote, referring to the lowest category in the performance review system. "They are being comically short-sighted and un-Googlely in their pursuit of 'sharpening focus.'" This targeted Pichai's call upon employees to be more focused last year.
Bard's failure validated the market's fear about Google's AI capability
Since ChatGPT's launch, there have been concerns about Google's AI capability to challenge OpenAI's chatbot. "Rushing Bard to market in a panic validated the market's fear about us," one employee wrote. During an all-hands in December last year, Google's leadership had talked about how rushing the AI-chat technology, which is far from perfect, would affect the company's reputation.
