In September, Google made its AI-powered search available to US teens, giving them access to richer results. Now the company made its AI chatbot Barda available to teenagersand even in most countries of the world, if those users’ language is set to English and they meet the minimum age required to manage their own Google Account. The minimum age requirement varies from country to country, but is between 13 and 16 years old.
Google states that teens can Bard ask for tips on how to write a certain text, for suggestions on which university to apply to, but also for help coming up with ideas for research projects – according to the company, these should be common questions asked by Google search engines. It will also be included math tutoring – teens can enter a math question or upload a photo of an example they don’t know how to solve and the chatbot will show them the solution step by step.
Similar to making Search Generative Experience (SGE) available to minors, Google states that has put in place sufficient safeguards. The company has trained Bard to recognize inappropriate content for younger users and not generate any illegal or age-restricted responses.
In addition, Bard will automatically launch double check function answers, when a teenage user asks their first fact-based question because they may not be aware of a common phenomenon called hallucination in LLM. When an AI chatbot hallucinates, it means that it gives nonsensical and inaccurate answers. It will also encourage teenagers to double-check after their first question to help them develop information literacy and critical thinking skills. But it is a question of how much it will be easier for students to complete their tasks with the help of a chatbot.
Source: engadget.com
