Microsoft unveils new Bing, Edge browser backed by upgraded OpenAI language model

Adopting a slightly cautionary tone, Nadella while extolling the merits of AI also said that there was a greater need to scale it with real understanding. He said that there was a need to be clear-eyed about the unintended consequences of any new technology. “AI is about alignment with human preferences and societal norms. You’re not going to do that in a lab,” he said.

Enter new Bing and Edge browser

The biggest highlight of the event held at Microsoft’s Redmond Campus in Washington was the launch of the upgraded search engine Bing and Edge browser. Named simply as the ‘new’ Bing, the search engine comes with an array of interesting features.

According to Microsoft, Bing will answer questions directly and encourage users to be more creative. The upgraded search engine will be running on a ‘new’ next-generation language model from OpenAI that has been customised specifically for search. This time, the company has integrated a new system called the ‘Prometheus Model’ to improve relevancy and offer answers that are most recent.

During the event, numerous search queries were demonstrated as part of the presentation. A query that sought a comparison of Mexican painters, led to a list of results with AI-generated answers on the right panel with annotated links (much similar to the Knowledge Panel on the Google search results page). The search results page delivered by Bing gave off an impression of a fusion between traditional search results and ChatGPT results, offering users more refined alternatives.

ChatGPT on new Bing

Bing also offers a separate Chat section on the top menu, which is much similar to the chat option offered on You.com. A search query where the presenter prompted the chatbot with ‘Mexico Travel Tips’ offered a detailed list of things or a travel itinerary in response. The chat interface on Bing feels much similar to ChatGPT, with the only distinction being the added sources and feedback tabs. The new Bing Chat can translate up to 100 languages.

Talking about the new Bing experience, CEO of OpenAI, Sam Altman said that using AI to transform critical tasks like these will be the beginning of a new era. “OpenAI and Microsoft have been working together for more than three years now. This new Bing experience is powered by one of our next-gen models, and takes key learnings from ChatGPT, GPT3.5,” added Altman.

Meanwhile, the updated Edge browser features an AI-powered copilot. The Edge comes with a new look, rounded corners and a fluid UI. The chat interface on Bing can be found on the right-side panel of Edge which makes it easier for users to navigate without the need to go to Bing.

The presentation also highlighted the ability of the Edge browser to break down information, especially by offering succinct summaries of PDF files. Users can also ask Edge to help them compose LinkedIn posts with just a few prompts. The browser can also help users with the tone and length of the posts.

Microsoft is also bringing this AI copilot to Edge browser by integrating Bing in a new cool way with chat and to summarize and compare based on what is in the Bing index pic.twitter.com/rPhw6X27Qt

— Barry Schwartz (@rustybrick) February 7, 2023

The new Bing is live as of today for desktops in a ‘limited preview’. Users can try several queries and sign up for full access. It will be made available to millions of people in the coming weeks both on desktop and mobile.

On Safety, risks and mitigation

The tech giant has been preparing for Bing and AI integration since 2017. During the presentation, Sarah Bird, AI lead for Azure said that the company has been using Generative AI in apps like Word for years. Bird also emphasised Microsoft’s efforts towards studying the risks of AI including bias and jailbreaking.

Bing has a multi-layered safety net in place. The application uses a fine-tuning model for the Binge-scale safety system to filter content and offer rapid response to systems for changing threats. “Microsoft, in partnership with OpenAI,  continuously test conversations and analyze them to classify conversations and improve the gaps in the safety system,” said Bird.

ChatGPT was opened up for public testing in November last year by San Francisco-based start-up OpenAI. In less than a week’s time, the application hit an average of 13 million users every day. In two months the app became the fastest to acquire 100 million users in the history of the Internet.