Have you ever cooked while trying to follow the instructions from a YouTube video? Probably. Now imagine receiving all the necessary information without ever playing the video. This is now possible thanks to an update from Bard, Google's AI chatbot. Bard's new YouTube integration can now handle complex questions about specific video content, such as ingredient quantities in recipes and summaries of instructions.
Bard's precision and inaccuracies
Take, for example, the preparation of an Espresso Martini. Did you forget how much Benedictine is needed? No problem. Type a few commands into Bard and you have immediate access to a complete list of ingredients and detailed step-by-step instructions, without having to rewind the video.
The accuracy of Bard is remarkable. It reproduces the ingredients and their quantities exactly, as well as the correct instructions, including chilling a martini glass. However, there is a slight discrepancy: Bard advises shaking the drink for 30 seconds, which does not match the instruction in the video.
Future implications for content creators and the creative industry
This development has the potential to have significant consequences for content creators. Take America's Test Kitchen as an example, which publishes its recipes behind a paywall on its website. Bard's ability to extract this information without playing the video raises questions about compensation for the creators. Currently, this feature is only available as an opt-in Labs experience and requires some effort to obtain the desired answers, which limits the current threat to the YouTube strategy of creators like ATK.
However, the future may unfold differently. If this tool is integrated directly into YouTube, the discussion could shift to how Bard's capacity to analyze video content can benefit content creators. For now, it seems that the only advantage lies with Google. This is not new for generative AI, but it remains an unanswered question within the industry. Google will need to find a solution to satisfy YouTube creators.
Despite Bard's promising YouTube feature, it also raises important questions about the distribution of value in the creative industry. This is a development that companies and organizations should closely monitor.
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how Bard can now watch YouTube videos for you.