Technologies

Microsoft Will Try to Fix Bing AI’s Errors and Bizarre Chats

The company says longer chats can send Bing around the bend when it tries to reflect the tone of the human side of the conversation.

Just over a week after launching its AI-powered Bing search engine, Microsoft is working to fix problems with factual errors and weird conversations stemming from the ChatGPT-related technology that’s under the hood.

In a blog post Wednesday, the software giant said longer chats can send Bing around the bend when it tries to reflect the tone of the human side of the conversation. It also acknowledged that Bing struggles to provide «answers that need very timely data,» such as live sports scores. And Microsoft said it will quadruple the amount of data the model uses to answer queries requiring hard facts, like numbers from financial reports.

«Lastly, we’re considering adding a toggle that gives you more control on the precision vs creativity of the answer to tailor to your query,» the company said in its post. Microsoft uses its in-house Bing technology to «ground» AI-boosted answers when accuracy is needed, but it relies on the language technology from partner and ChatGPT creator OpenAI when more «creative» responses are called for.

Bing’s new chat function, which puts the OpenAI technology front and center, can get weird in extended sessions of 15 or more questions, Microsoft said. The AI model gets confused or shifts its tone oddly. This is evident in a transcript of New York Times tech columnist Kevin Roose’s bizarre conversation with the AI, in which it confesses a desire to spread misinformation and become human, then tries to convince him to leave his marriage and be with it. People on the Bing forum on Reddit also spotlighted behavior showing Bing running amok.

There are also instances where it became defensive or refused to admit an error, according to Fast Company.

«This is a nontrivial scenario that requires a lot of prompting, so most of you won’t run into it, but we are looking at how to give you more fine-tuned control,» Microsoft said.

The company also promised to address technical issues, such as slow loading, broken links and incorrect formatting, and to look at adding new features like booking flights, sending email and sharing answers.

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

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Monday, Dec. 1

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Dec. 1.

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

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Read on for the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Tree that’s a symbol of Canada
Answer: MAPLE

6A clue: Back street
Answer: ALLEY

7A clue: Kind of steak with a letter in its name
Answer: TBONE

8A clue: Beer pong targets
Answer: CUPS

9A clue: «___ Pinafore» (Gilbert and Sullivan opera)
Answer: HMS

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Show mutual interest, as on a dating app
Answer: MATCH

2D clue: «Bad» or «Good Kid, M.A.A.D City»
Answer: ALBUM

3D clue: Sits (down) heavily
Answer: PLOPS

4D clue: Contact ___
Answer: LENS

5D clue: Look here!
Answer: EYE

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Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Dec. 1, #434

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Dec. 1, No. 434.

Looking for the most recent regular 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 and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition features one of those classic — and difficult — purple categories. You’ll need to look for words inside of words to get that grouping. (Or just solve the other three, and get purple by default.) If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

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

Yellow group hint: Maybe on the beach.

Green group hint: Deal me in.

Blue group hint: Not necessarily Jim.

Purple group hint: Look at the final part of the words.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Volleyball terms.

Green group: Poker terms.

Blue group: Jameses.

Purple group: Ends in an NWSL team.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is volleyball terms. The four answers are dig, serve, set and spike.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is poker terms. The four answers are blind, flop, river and turn.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is Jameses.The four answers are Cook, Harden, Shields and Worthy.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ends in an NWSL team.The four answers are balderdash (Houston Dash), concurrent (Kansas City Current), foreign (Seattle Reign) and microwave (San Diego Wave).

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Technologies

Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for Dec. 1, #1626

Here are hints and the answer for today’s Wordle for Dec. 1, No. 1,626.

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

Today’s Wordle puzzle is a little tricky. Many people will confuse it with a similar word that’s spelled differently. If you need a new starter word, check out our list of which letters show up the most in English words. If you need hints and the answer, read on.