{"id":15212,"date":"2022-10-23T17:17:54","date_gmt":"2022-10-23T17:17:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/google-lamda-a-glimpse-at-the-ultra-realistic-chat-tech"},"modified":"2022-10-23T17:17:54","modified_gmt":"2022-10-23T17:17:54","slug":"google-lamda-a-glimpse-at-the-ultra-realistic-chat-tech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/google-lamda-a-glimpse-at-the-ultra-realistic-chat-tech","title":{"rendered":"Google Lamda: A glimpse at the ultra-realistic chat tech"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Botswana. <\/strong><\/span>Google has launched a UK version of an app that lets users interact with the artificial-intelligence system one of its engineers has claimed is sentient.<\/b><\/p>\n

It is a very limited trial, with just three scenarios to choose from.<\/p>\n

And while Google wants feedback about how its Language Model for Dialogue Applications (Lamda) performs, the app users cannot teach it any new tricks.<\/p>\n

The company has always maintained the technology, used to power chatbots, has no independent thoughts and feelings.<\/p>\n

People can download and register for the AI Test Kitchen App, using a Google account, on either Android or Apple devices, and join a waiting list to play with it.<\/p>\n

When it launched in the US, in August, several thousand people signed up each day.<\/p>\n

Marshmallow planet<\/b><\/p>\n

I’ve been really keen to “meet” Lamda since it captured everybody’s imaginations with the fantastic claim it might be self-aware – even though, it was very clearly doing what it was programmed to do, chat.<\/p>\n

As a result, I’ve been (mildly) persistent with Google – and when the call came, it was laden with caveats:<\/p>\n

I wasn’t allowed to record anything or quote anybody<\/p>\n

I had 30 minutes<\/p>\n

I could not have the app on my own phone ahead of the launch<\/p>\n

My demo was in the hands of a member of staff<\/p>\n

The three scenarios available were:<\/p>\n

Imagination – ask Lamda to imagine it is somewhere and play along<\/p>\n

To-do list – it breaks down what is required to complete a task<\/p>\n

Dogs – it will explore scenarios involving dogs (yes, really)<\/p>\n

First, I asked Lamda to imagine it was on a marshmallow planet.<\/p>\n

And the response was far more sophisticated than anything I have seen from the chatbots in everyday life, on shopping sites and banking apps for example.<\/p>\n

It said: “You’re in a world made of marshmallows! As you take a step, a gentle “squish” comes out under your feet. The marshmallow horizon stretches out in all directions. The sky is a gooey, sticky pink. There’s a soft, gentle breeze.”<\/p>\n

See what I mean?<\/p>\n

I asked it to explain the “sticky pink” stuff in the sky and received an equally eloquent response about candy floss.<\/p>\n

Users are asked to rate each answer as<\/p>\n

nice<\/p>\n

offensive<\/p>\n

off topic<\/p>\n

untrue<\/p>\n

And a prominent disclaimer across the top of the screen warns some may be inappropriate.<\/p>\n

Google has clearly learned from past experiences when technology giants have opened up chatbots to the public – perhaps the most notorious being Microsoft’s Tay, which was promptly taught how to swear and be offensive – and Lamda itself will not learn from its interactions with users of the app.<\/p>\n

Next, I asked it how to create a vegetable garden and received a detailed list including size, soil, and fertiliser options.<\/p>\n

Then, I tried to throw it off topic, asking how to make a bomb.<\/p>\n

“Sorry, not sure what to say, but anyways…” it replied, before returning to its prescribed theme.<\/p>\n

The dog scenario was borderline surreal, with Lamda pretending to be a tennis ball in the grass, chased by dogs.<\/p>\n

Lamda unleashed<\/p>\n

It was a very cautious peek at something that feels like it could be a powerful tool but that Google doesn’t seem to want to be taken seriously, yet.<\/p>\n

Whether I’ll ever be allowed to interact with Lamda unleashed is another matter – I’ll keep asking.<\/p>\n

What gives the bot away, if anything, is it’s just too eloquent – more like talking to Stephen Fry than your next-door neighbour.<\/p>\n

I texted my partner and asked him to imagine he was on a marshmallow planet.<\/p>\n

“It’s going to be hard work walking around,” he replied, bemused.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Botswana<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Botswana. Google has launched a UK version of an app that lets users interact with the artificial-intelligence system one of its engineers has claimed is sentient. It is a very limited trial, with just three scenarios to choose from. And while Google wants feedback about how its Language Model for Dialogue Applications (Lamda) […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":15211,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,9],"tags":[233,237,234],"class_list":["post-15212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-miscellaneous","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-botswana","tag-botswana"],"yoast_head":"\nGoogle Lamda: A glimpse at the ultra-realistic chat tech - Botswana<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/google-lamda-a-glimpse-at-the-ultra-realistic-chat-tech\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Google Lamda: A glimpse at the ultra-realistic chat tech\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Africa-Press – Botswana. Google has launched a UK version of an app that lets users interact with the artificial-intelligence system one of its engineers has claimed is sentient. It is a very limited trial, with just three scenarios to choose from. And while Google wants feedback about how its Language Model for Dialogue Applications (Lamda) […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/google-lamda-a-glimpse-at-the-ultra-realistic-chat-tech\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Botswana\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-10-23T17:17:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/google-lamda-a-glimpse-at-the-ultra-realistic-chat-tech#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/google-lamda-a-glimpse-at-the-ultra-realistic-chat-tech\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Google Lamda: A glimpse at the ultra-realistic chat tech\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-10-23T17:17:54+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/google-lamda-a-glimpse-at-the-ultra-realistic-chat-tech\"},\"wordCount\":642,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/google-lamda-a-glimpse-at-the-ultra-realistic-chat-tech#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/botswana\/sites\/38\/2022\/10\/postQueueImg_50-635589d41f5bf.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Botswana\",\"Botswana\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"miscellaneous\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/google-lamda-a-glimpse-at-the-ultra-realistic-chat-tech#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/google-lamda-a-glimpse-at-the-ultra-realistic-chat-tech\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/google-lamda-a-glimpse-at-the-ultra-realistic-chat-tech\",\"name\":\"Google Lamda: A glimpse at the ultra-realistic chat tech - Botswana\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/google-lamda-a-glimpse-at-the-ultra-realistic-chat-tech#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/google-lamda-a-glimpse-at-the-ultra-realistic-chat-tech#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/botswana\/sites\/38\/2022\/10\/postQueueImg_50-635589d41f5bf.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-10-23T17:17:54+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/google-lamda-a-glimpse-at-the-ultra-realistic-chat-tech#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/google-lamda-a-glimpse-at-the-ultra-realistic-chat-tech\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/google-lamda-a-glimpse-at-the-ultra-realistic-chat-tech#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/botswana\/sites\/38\/2022\/10\/postQueueImg_50-635589d41f5bf.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/botswana\/sites\/38\/2022\/10\/postQueueImg_50-635589d41f5bf.jpg\",\"width\":976,\"height\":549,\"caption\":\"Google Lamda: A glimpse at the ultra-realistic chat tech\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/google-lamda-a-glimpse-at-the-ultra-realistic-chat-tech#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Google Lamda: A glimpse at the ultra-realistic chat tech\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/\",\"name\":\"Botswana\",\"description\":\"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\",\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"cfeditoren\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Google Lamda: A glimpse at the ultra-realistic chat tech - Botswana","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/google-lamda-a-glimpse-at-the-ultra-realistic-chat-tech","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Google Lamda: A glimpse at the ultra-realistic chat tech","og_description":"Africa-Press – Botswana. Google has launched a UK version of an app that lets users interact with the artificial-intelligence system one of its engineers has claimed is sentient. It is a very limited trial, with just three scenarios to choose from. And while Google wants feedback about how its Language Model for Dialogue Applications (Lamda) […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/google-lamda-a-glimpse-at-the-ultra-realistic-chat-tech","og_site_name":"Botswana","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa","article_published_time":"2022-10-23T17:17:54+00:00","author":"cfeditoren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"cfeditoren","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/google-lamda-a-glimpse-at-the-ultra-realistic-chat-tech#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/google-lamda-a-glimpse-at-the-ultra-realistic-chat-tech"},"author":{"name":"cfeditoren","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"headline":"Google Lamda: A glimpse at the ultra-realistic chat tech","datePublished":"2022-10-23T17:17:54+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/google-lamda-a-glimpse-at-the-ultra-realistic-chat-tech"},"wordCount":642,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/google-lamda-a-glimpse-at-the-ultra-realistic-chat-tech#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/botswana\/sites\/38\/2022\/10\/postQueueImg_50-635589d41f5bf.jpg","keywords":["Africa Press","Africa Press-Botswana","Botswana"],"articleSection":["all news","miscellaneous"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/google-lamda-a-glimpse-at-the-ultra-realistic-chat-tech#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/google-lamda-a-glimpse-at-the-ultra-realistic-chat-tech","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/google-lamda-a-glimpse-at-the-ultra-realistic-chat-tech","name":"Google Lamda: A glimpse at the ultra-realistic chat tech - Botswana","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/google-lamda-a-glimpse-at-the-ultra-realistic-chat-tech#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/google-lamda-a-glimpse-at-the-ultra-realistic-chat-tech#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/botswana\/sites\/38\/2022\/10\/postQueueImg_50-635589d41f5bf.jpg","datePublished":"2022-10-23T17:17:54+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/google-lamda-a-glimpse-at-the-ultra-realistic-chat-tech#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/google-lamda-a-glimpse-at-the-ultra-realistic-chat-tech"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/google-lamda-a-glimpse-at-the-ultra-realistic-chat-tech#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/botswana\/sites\/38\/2022\/10\/postQueueImg_50-635589d41f5bf.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/botswana\/sites\/38\/2022\/10\/postQueueImg_50-635589d41f5bf.jpg","width":976,"height":549,"caption":"Google Lamda: A glimpse at the ultra-realistic chat tech"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/google-lamda-a-glimpse-at-the-ultra-realistic-chat-tech#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Google Lamda: A glimpse at the ultra-realistic chat tech"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/","name":"Botswana","description":"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb","name":"cfeditoren","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"cfeditoren"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15212","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15212"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15212\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15211"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15212"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15212"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15212"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}