What is Wikibase Cloud (according to Bing AI)

A few days ago I wrote a post called What is Wikibase Cloud (according to ChatGPT). Now I also have access to the new Bing AI chatbot preview, so time to put it to the same test.

This is one of the first times I’m going to have purposefully used Bing since its launch!

As before, Messages to Bing AI will be in bold, things that are wrong, in red, and things that are right in green.

I’ll try to steer the conversation through the same questions that I used with ChatGPT.

Firstly, “What is Bing AI?”

Bing AI is a term that refers to various features and capabilities of Bing that are powered by artificial intelligence. For example, Bing AI can help you find answers, chat with you, generate content, and personalize your web experience²³.

Source: Conversation with Bing, 06/03/2023
(1) Reinventing search with a new AI-powered Microsoft Bing and Edge, your …. Accessed 06/03/2023.
(2) Factbox: How to get Microsoft’s new AI-enhanced Bing. Accessed 06/03/2023.
(3) Bing. Accessed 06/03/2023.
(4) Microsoft ignores Bing fails by planning to let AI loose on Windows 11 desktops. Accessed 06/03/2023.
(5) Bing AI chatbot now lets you fine-tune its personality. Accessed 06/03/2023.
(6) AI-powered Bing Chat gains three distinct personalities. Accessed 06/03/2023.

I’m really liking the fact that the responses come with references, whereas with ChatGPT you need to ask for the resources that were used to generate the answers. Also, it looks like the “Accessed” date for all of these resources is much more recent, perhaps this means Bing will be better at conversations about more recent ongoings?

This is all also nicely displayed in the UI.

So, “What is Wikibase Cloud?”

Wikibase Cloud is a cloud-based platform that hosts instances of Wikibase, an open-source software suite for creating collaborative knowledge bases¹². It’s currently an invite-only beta service provided by Wikimedia Deutschland¹⁴.

Are you interested in applying for early access to Wikibase Cloud?

Source: Conversation with Bing, 06/03/2023
(1) Wikibase/Wikibase.cloud – MediaWiki. Accessed 06/03/2023.
(2) Wikibase/Wikibase.cloud – Meta – Wikimedia. Accessed 06/03/2023.
(3) wikibase.cloud. Accessed 06/03/2023.
(4) What is Wikibase Cloud (according to ChatGPT) – addshore. Accessed 06/03/2023.

So, now we are apparently reaching the point of self-referential AI, as Bing is referencing the blog post that I wrote a few days ago pointing out where ChatGPT was incorrect about various points regarding Wikibase Cloud.

There is also an interesting prompt by Bing to continue the conversation asking if I want to apply for early access, so let’s give it a go with a simple “Yes”.

I also needed to ask “Where is the application form?”, as the first response told me to fill out “this application form” without actually linking to anything, not so useful…

Asking this second question seemed to take the bot out of chat mode and go and do another Bing search. Nothing wrong with that it seems, as the second response did include links to the form.

Though not a perfect answer, as the paragraph seems oddly constructed, and actually refers to 2 different pages that talk about early access and an invite code, making it sound like they are 2 separate processes, but in reality, they are one.

The application form for Wikibase Cloud is available on this website². You can access it by clicking on “Apply for early access” on the homepage. You will need an invite code to complete the application. You can get an invite code by signing up for updates on this website¹.

Source: Conversation with Bing, 06/03/2023
(1) wikibase.cloud. Accessed 06/03/2023.
(2) Wikibase/Wikibase.cloud – Meta – Wikimedia. Accessed 06/03/2023.
(3) Wikibase/Wikibase.cloud/Account – MediaWiki. Accessed 06/03/2023.

Back to some of the other questions I asked ChatGPT.

“When was wikibase cloud announced?”

According to different sources, Wikibase Cloud was announced by Wikimedia Deutschland either in September 2020² or in April 2022¹³. The service was initially invite-only, but it planned to open up broader access in late 2022¹.

Are you curious about how Wikibase Cloud works?

Source: Conversation with Bing, 06/03/2023
(1) What is Wikibase Cloud (according to ChatGPT) – addshore. Accessed 06/03/2023.
(2) Wikibase.cloud: a new project at Wikimedia Deutschland. Accessed 06/03/2023.
(3) Wikibase.cloud: a new project at Wikimedia Deutschland. Accessed 06/03/2023.
(4) Pre-launch Announcement of Wikibase.Cloud [WikidataCon Writeup]. Accessed 06/03/2023.
(5) Wikibase/Wikibase.cloud – Meta – Wikimedia. Accessed 06/03/2023.

Again here is a pointer to my post from a few days ago with ChatGPT, and apparently, that post is a source of the date April 2022, despite not mentioning April 2022 at all.

Confusingly the Wikimedia Deutschland blog post is then referenced twice using the same URL, but as 2 separate references. Apparently, this post is the source of the September 2020 date, but I don’t see it there.

“Do you have a link to the announcement of wikibase cloud?”

Yes, I do have a link to the announcement of Wikibase Cloud. The initial announcement was made on this blog post¹ on January 9th, 2022. You can also watch a video recording of the pre-launch presentation at WikidataCon 2021 on this YouTube link².

Do you want to watch the video now?

Source: Conversation with Bing, 06/03/2023
(1) Pre-launch Announcement of Wikibase.Cloud [WikidataCon Writeup]. Accessed 06/03/2023.
(2) Open Access Tracking Project on Twitter: “Pre-launch Announcement and …. Accessed 06/03/2023.
(3) Wikibase/Wikibase.cloud – MediaWiki. Accessed 06/03/2023.

Now apparently the date of announcement has changed from the previous answer to 9th January 2022. This appears to be a few days after my blog post on the pre-launch announcement.

Also, rather than linking directly to the video on YouTube, we seem to get a link via a tweet to the video instead.

I was interested while continuing the conversation to see what would happen when I reached 8/8 in the bottom right of the UI.

One more question provided me with that answer!

“Why do you keep refering to different dates?”

I’m sorry for any confusion. I’m referring to different dates because there are different sources that report different dates for the announcement of Wikibase Cloud. I’m trying to provide you with the most accurate and up-to-date information possible.

Do you have a preference for which source you trust more?

Source: Conversation with Bing, 06/03/2023

And there the conversation ended.

It’d be nice if the original answers provided all of the dates Bing could find if it suspected multiple possible dates, rather than needing to ask subsequent questions.

But overall, this was a better experience than the older ChatGPT model.