Google’s conversation AI tool, Bard, can now assist software developers with programming tasks such as generating code, debugging, and code explanation.
The addition of these new skills was in response to user demand, as coding had been one of the top requests Google had received. The software development capabilities are available in over 20 programming languages, including Java, Python, and TypeScript. Bard can review and help users debug their source code line by line, translate code from one language to another, and explain code snippets.
Bard was created to compete with ChatGPT and other language models, but it did not perform as well in TechCrunch’s testing on chatbot performance. However, the latest set of skills could help Bard keep up with ChatGPT and Claude, at least on paper. It remains to be seen how well Bard can create, translate, and debug code. Google Research product lead Paige Bailey cautioned that Bard is still an early experiment, and it may sometimes provide inaccurate or false information while presenting it confidently.
Despite the challenges, Bard’s new capabilities can offer new ways to write code, create test cases, or update APIs. If Bard quotes at length from an existing open-source project, it will cite the source. The software can also help with writing functions for Google Sheets and export Python code to Google Colab. In summary, Bard’s new programming skills can assist developers in generating and debugging code, among other tasks, but users should be cautious of inaccurate or incomplete information.
