Technologies

Google Unveils Its ChatGPT Rival

Meet Bard.

Google released its own AI chatbot similar to ChatGPT on Monday called Bard.

«Bard seeks to combine the breadth of the world’s knowledge with the power, intelligence, and creativity of our large language models,» Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai tweeted Monday. «It draws on information from the web to provide fresh, high-quality responses.»

Powering Bard is Google’s Language Model for Dialogue Applications (LaMDA). The company says its new AI will use information from the web to make creative responses to queries or provide detailed info on questions asked.

Bard will be made available on Monday to selected testers and will be available to the public in the coming weeks..

Google didn’t immediately respond to request for comment.

Bard uses a lightweight version of LaMDA, according to a blog post by CEO Sundar Pichai. This model uses less computing power, allowing it to scale to more people and allowing additional feedback. Pichai pressed that feedback will be critical in meeting Google’s «high bar for quality, safety and groundedness in real-world information.»

Don’t expect Google rival Microsoft to stand still. CEO Satya Nadella is announcing «progress on a few exciting projects» at a press event at the company’s headquarters on Tuesday, according to an invitation. Microsoft plans to integrate ChatGPT into its technology, and this event could be where details are announced.

ChatGPT uses artificial intelligence technology called a large language model, trained on vast swaths of data on the internet. That type of model uses an AI mechanism called a transformer that Google pioneered. ChatGPT’s success in everything from writing software, passing exams, and offering advice, in the style of the King James Bible, on removing a sandwich from a VCR has propelled it into the tech spotlight, even though its results can be misleading or wrong.

AI technology already is all around us, helping in everything from flagging credit card fraud to translating our speech into text messages. The ChatGPT technology has elevated expectations, though, so it’s clear the technology will become more important in our lives one way or another as we rely on digital assistants and online tools.

Google AI subsidiary DeepMind also is involved. Chief Executive Demis Hassabis told Time that his company is considering a 2023 private beta test of an AI chatbot called Sparrow.

Google detailed transformers in 2017, and it’s since become a fixture of some of the biggest AI systems out there. Nvidia’s new H100 processor, the top dog in the world of AI acceleration at least in terms of public speed tests, now includes specific circuitry to accelerate transformers.

The large language model (LLM) revolution in AI that resulted is useful for language-specific systems like ChatGPT, Google’s LaMDA and newer PaLM, and others from companies including AI21 Labs, Adept AI Labs and Cohere. But LLMs are used for other tasks, too, including stacking boxes and processing genetic data to hunt for new drugs. Notably, they’re good at generating text, which is why they can be used for answering questions.

Google, which endured bad publicity over the departure of AI researcher Timnit Gebru in 2020, has a program focusing on responsible AI and machine learning, or ML, technology. «Building ML models and products in a responsible and ethical manner is both our core focus and core commitment,» Google Research Vice President Marian Croak said in a January post.

Google is keen to tout its deep AI expertise. ChatGPT triggered a «code red» emergency within Google, according to The New York Times, and drew Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin back into active work.

Editors’ note: CNET is using an AI engine to create some personal finance explainers that are edited and fact-checked by our editors. For more, see this post.

Technologies

What a Ban Would Actually Mean for DJI Drone Owners and Holiday Shoppers

What’s the secret to a very un-merry shopping season? A brand new, unusable drone.

With Thanksgiving wrapped up and the Black Friday shopping sales here, if a DJI drone is on your holiday wish list, you might want to hit «buy» immediately. The company has issued a stark warning: Its drones could be banned from sale in the US, and the deadline is looming.

The Federal Communications Commission voted 3-0 at the end of October to «close loopholes» that allow tech deemed a «national security risk» to be sold in the US. In plain English, the US government is clearing the path to give DJI the same treatment it gave Chinese phone-maker Huawei, effectively banning its products from the American market.

The US government has deemed DJI, which is based in China, a security risk. It’s also considering a separate ban on TP-Link routers.

DJI is already sounding the alarm, posting on Instagram that a «deadline that could decide DJI’s fate in the US is just 43 days away» (now 19 days away). The company is warning that without an audit, its products could face an «automatic ban.» The US government has long labeled the Chinese drone maker a security risk, and it looks like the hammer might finally be coming down right before the holidays.

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The vote isn’t the end of the road, however. Future bans would need to target specific products and would require a period of public consultation. But it appears the groundwork is being set for the FCC to block sales of future and some existing DJI drones from US shores, as well as products that use DJI technology.

The government has called for a DJI audit by the end of the year, but if that doesn’t happen, DJI drone products could be banned for sale by default under a national security law.

DJI asks for a security audit before any ban

A representative for DJI told CNET that while the FCC vote references a rule change that doesn’t currently apply to DJI specifically, the National Defense Authorization Act deadline in December would put Chinese companies like it on the FCC’s ban list, «without any evidence of wrongdoing or the right to appeal.»

Adam Welsh, head of global policy at DJI, said the company has repeatedly said it would be open to audit, but that «more than 10 months have now passed with no sign that the process has begun.»

«The US government has every right to strengthen national security measures, but this must go hand in hand with due process, fairness, and transparency,» Welsh said.

Welsh said DJI is urging the government to start the audit process or grant an extension.

Will DJI drone owners need to give them up?

Because the ban would apply to new sales, not drones that have already been sold, a DJI drone you already own would still be legal to use — at least under current rules.

Government agencies, however, are prohibited from purchasing or using drones from Chinese companies, including DJI.

DJI’s drones consistently rank high in their product category. In January, they dominated CNET’s list of best drones for 2025. But some of the company’s newest products, such as the DJI Mavic 4 Pro, haven’t been available for sale in the United States.

Even DJI products that are not yet banned may be hard to find. The website UAV Coach has posted a guide to the bans and reports that, due to inventory issues, most DJI drone models are sold out at retailers regardless of future FCC action.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Nov. 29 #636

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Nov. 29, No. 636.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle is a real puzzler. Some of the answers are difficult to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: What a piece of work!

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: You can build it in a shop.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

CREW, REAM, LANE, WHEE, DELL, CANE, PULL, REVEL

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

WHEEL, AXLE, LEVER, WEDGE, PLANE, PULLEY, SCREW

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is SIMPLEMACHINE. To find it, start with the S that’s three letters to the right on the top row, and wind over and down.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Nov. 29, #902

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Nov. 29, #902.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle is tough. If you need help sorting them into groups, you’re in the right place. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Middle of the body.

Green group hint: Fill-in.

Blue group hint: Nice place to hang out.

Purple group hint: Card game.