Bard rules that Google has a “monopoly,” and supports the Department of Justice’s antitrust case

Google’s artificial intelligence chatbot, Bard, has ruled that the company has a “monopoly on the digital advertising market” when asked to rule on an antitrust lawsuit the Department of Justice has brought against the tech giant.

Bard, which launched in the US on Tuesday, has turned against its creators in response to a claim from app researcher and tech blogger Jane Manchun Wong, From the posting of the exchange on her Twitter account.

“Google has a monopoly on the digital advertising market, and that has allowed the company to engage in anticompetitive behavior,” Bard said in response to Wong’s question about whether it supports the DOJ or Google in the case.

Bard argued that Google’s actions in the digital advertising sector, such as the acquisition of competitors, had “harmed consumers and stifled innovation” in the marketplace — and said it would “stand by the Department of Justice”.

Google’s theoretical judgment quickly disavowed its creation as it battled artificial intelligence competitor ChatGPT.

“As we’ve said, Bard can sometimes provide inaccurate or inappropriate information that does not represent Google’s views, and Bard should not respond in a way that endorses a particular viewpoint on personal topics,” the company said in a statement to The Post.

Google added that Bard is “trained” on publicly available content and its responses “could reflect positive or negative viewpoints of specific politicians, celebrities, or other public figures, or even incorporate viewpoints on certain aspects of controversial social or political issues into their responses.”

In January, the Department of Justice joined eight states in suing parent company Alphabet, Google. The complaint alleges that Google engages in “illegal, exclusionary and anti-competitive behaviour” to control the digital advertising market, which makes up about 80% of its annual revenue.

The feds aim to dismantle Google’s advertising business as part of a broader crackdown on big tech companies that have gained traction in recent months.

Bard called the Justice Department’s lawsuit “an important step in protecting competition and ensuring consumers have access to a fair and open market.”

“I hope the court will find in favor of the Department of Justice and order Google to take steps to break its monopoly,” the chatbot added.

The lawsuit is just one of many legal woes for parent company Alphabet, which is also facing increasing antitrust scrutiny focused on the popular mapping service, according to reports in February.

Google’s AI efforts are under intense scrutiny after the runaway success of ChatGPT, the Microsoft-backed chatbot that has garnered countless headlines for its eerily realistic responses in recent days.

Last month, Google shares plunged after Bard disclosed inaccurate information in the company’s advertisement for the service.

Alphabet shares rose more than 3% in Tuesday’s trading after Google unveiled the beta version of “Bard” for public use.

A queue to interact with the chatbot ran for several hours after The Post signed up to use it.

In a note to staff Obtained by CNBCGoogle CEO Sundar Pichai acknowledged that hiccups are likely to occur with the public gaining access to Bard.

“As more people start using Bard and testing its capabilities, they will surprise us,” Pichai said in the letter. “But user feedback is critical to improving the product and the underlying technology.”