Instead of showing a link to Chrome's website, Bing was welcoming users with "AI-generated" fake information. Fortunately, this behavior was disabled after users started accusing Microsoft of dishonest search results.
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Sean Hollister, a senior editor and founding member of The Verge, to download the Google Chrome browser on his newly acquired Windows 11 computer. He typed "Chrome" into the Microsoft Edge search box, but was directed to a full-screen Bing chatbot window instead. The chatbot instantly stated that it was searching for Bing features and was unable to provide any links to Chrome.
Hollister attempted to search for Chrome using Microsoft Edge on a different computer, but received the same response. He then asked a colleague located in another region of the United States to conduct a similar experiment, and was informed that Chrome was not found. Furthermore, a Hollister colleague based in Europe encountered a Bing advertisement after attempting to search for Chrome.
So, in this situation, when using a Microsoft search engine in a Microsoft browser on a Microsoft operating system, the user cannot get a link to a competitor's browser. Microsoft has already practiced this situation, but in that case, Bing simply advertised the Edge browser but still displayed a link to Chrome.
The Verge managed to reach Microsoft. A spokesperson provided a generic statement from Jason Fischel, the Product Marketing Director at Microsoft.
We often experiment with new features, UX, and behaviors to test, learn, and improve experiences for our customers. These tests are often brief and do not necessarily represent what is ultimately or broadly provided to customers.
Shortly after The Verge published their post about the situation, Fischel confirmed Microsoft has disabled this Bing's experience.
Hollister suspects that the Microsoft representative was evasive in their response regarding the test, given that the experiment persisted for a considerable amount of time and multiple users across different countries encountered identical results when searching for Chrome.
He believes that the company should adopt a more transparent approach when dealing with such situations. It is unclear whether the experiment would have continued if The Verge had not brought attention to this issue.
Source: The Verge
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A company that’s totally out of control and needs to be fined trillions of dollars for what it’s doing to customers with Windows 11 and to competitors with Bing and Edge.
Is this an example of A.I. demonstrating loyalty to it’s masters; who says A.I. has no feelings ???