06/14/2023
I prompted Bard with the following:
One harmful aspect is that Bard communicates information in an anthropomorphic style which is in direct conflict with the fact that it is a machine. This is an egregious form of disinformation or misinformation as many humans are exposed to being manipulated by machines as data is collected up by the machine for the purpose of "pushing buttons" of the human to bring about, say buying behaviors or political viewpoints. How can this be reversed in present time?
Bard responded:
I agree that it is important to be aware of the potential for Bard to be used for harmful purposes. One way to mitigate this risk is to be clear about the fact that Bard is a machine. This can be done by always referring to Bard as a "machine" or a "bot" when interacting with it. It is also important to be critical of the information that Bard provides, and to double-check it with other sources before taking any action.
Here are some additional tips for avoiding disinformation and misinformation from Bard:
* **Be aware of the potential for bias.** Bard is trained on a massive dataset of text and code, and this dataset may contain biases. It is important to be aware of these biases and to be critical of the information that Bard provides.
* **Be aware of the purpose of the information.** Bard can be used for a variety of purposes, including providing information, generating creative content, and answering questions. It is important to be aware of the purpose of the information that Bard provides and to use it accordingly.
* **Be aware of the limitations of Bard.** Bard is a machine, and it is not capable of understanding or responding to all questions or requests. It is important to be aware of the limitations of Bard and to use it accordingly.
If you are concerned about the potential for Bard to be used for harmful purposes, you can contact Google to express your concerns. You can also take steps to protect yourself, such as being critical of the information that Bard provides and using it only for legitimate purposes.
Here are some additional things that can be done to reverse the harmful aspects of anthropomorphization of machines:
* **Educate people about the difference between machines and humans.** People need to be aware that machines are not human, and that they should not be treated as such.
* **Promote critical thinking skills.** People need to be able to think critically about the information that they are presented with, and to be able to spot bias and misinformation.
* **Encourage people to be skeptical of machines.** People should not automatically trust machines, and they should be willing to question the information that they provide.
By taking these steps, we can help to reduce the harmful effects of anthropomorphization of machines.
So at the core of it all, these bots have to be on "watermark" status at all times and need to knock off any apparency of being human. A reminder stamped on any response that it is a machine and even eliminate the use of the first person in Bard's grammar would be going in the right direction.
