In my previous post (Part 1: here), I presented some preliminary tests of chatting in Classical Syriac with Google Bard (/Gemini) and found it to be quite promising, even considering that it is still under development. In this post, I will continue sharing my preliminary tests, exploring questions about certain authors, delving into historical research, and concluding with an example of my private communications.
But before proceeding, it is worth noting the name change of this chatbot developed by Google AI from Google Bard to Gemini. According to Google’s statement on February 12th, 2024: “Google CEO Sundar Pichai revealed the reason behind renaming the Bard AI chatbot to Gemini, stating that it reflects Google’s approach to building its AI models. The name change allows users to directly interact with the underlying Gemini model.” Fortunately, the name change has not altered the functionality. I have also personally tested Gemini for Syriac, and it continues to serve as an excellent AI tool for Syriac. So, let’s dive into the continuation of our exploration from Part 1!
3. Asking about personalities and monasteries
Another test to Google Bard was to ask in Syriac about specific persons. Although it could not know many contemporary Syriac scholars and authors, it could tell me (in Syriac) about historical authors, such as St. Ephrem the Syrian (d. 373) in three Syriac paragraphs: about his life, his works, and his writings. Google Bard even offered to give me further information if I asked more specific questions about St. Ephrem.
When I asked about St. Simeon the Stylite “ܫܡܥܘܢ ܕܐܣܛܘܢܐ” (d. 459), a Syrian hermit who lived his last 37 years on top of a pillar (near Aleppo), Google Bard brought me information about him from the English Wikipedia supported with a photo of the pillar.
But when I asked about Mor Gabriel monastery (in Tur Abdin), the answer of Google Bard was very satisfactory. It provided an answer in Syriac including the requested information about this monastery, even with a photo from Wikipedia!
4. Composing and writing different kinds of texts, such as about a summary of the Ecumenical Council of Nicaea
After enjoying chatting in Syriac with Google Bard, I wanted to ask if it can pray in Syriac. So I asked about a morning prayer; Google Bard asked about which kind of prayers I needed to know, and also for which church tradition. Then I asked Google Bard to write the Lord’s Prayer in Syriac “ܐܒܘܢ ܕܒܫܡܝܐ”, and it wrote it completely with only a few errors.
The next stage for me was to ask about the Ecumenical Council of Nicaea. Google Bard wanted to know in its answer, “which one?”: Nicaea 325 or 787? (Well, the latter is not considered among the “Ecumenical Councils” for the Oriental Orthodox Churches, which is perhaps too much for Google Bard to understand – at least at this stage, but that’s another story!) So, I answered briefly, by writing only the number “325” in an attempt to tell Google Bard that I want to know about the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea AD 325. Indeed, it answered me, but in Chinese, which surely was not helpful for me… So, I requested in Syriac: “ܒܒܥܘ ܟܬܘܒ ܒܣܘܪܝܝܐ” (Please, write in Syriac), and Google Bard indeed answered me with a lengthy response about Nicaea 325 and its historical canons in Syriac. I am not sure if Google Bard liked my polite question afterwards by putting “ܒܒܥܘ” (please) in my request, but that’s what happened!
5. Chatting about suggestions for personal activities, so it suggested some recommendations to visit in Graz!
Finally, as Google Bard is a family member of Google AI, which is a division of Google dedicated to artificial intelligence, then it would not be surprising to see that Google Bard might know many personal details, especially if it is connected with the same account of Android phones and Google Chrome web browser.
So, on a sunny Sunday afternoon, I asked Google Bard in Syriac about what I could do? The Syriac answer included suggestions to visit the historical Graz Schlossberg “ ܡܫܟܚ ܐܢܬ ܬܙܘܪ ܠܫܠܘܣܒܪܩ” (“You can visit Schlossberg”). So, since Google Bard knows where I live and knows the weather, the suggestion was really excellent in addition to being in Syriac!
There are even some other helpful features of how to use Google Bard (/Gemini) in Syriac, such as transcribing texts from images (as it is possible to upload images in the chatbox), and also transcribing Garshuni texts (writing in Syriac scripts for other languages, such as Garshuni Arabic). But perhaps let us save that for another future post!
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