Google is testing a new AI chatbot - we put it through its paces

The scene is 10 Downing Street, the home of the prime minister. It's a crisp, cool day. A lawn mower can be heard in the distance. There's a knock at the door, and it's answered by a policeman! Now, before anyone gets any ideas, the setup to this particular story is the work of an AI - Google's chatbot named LaMDA, to be precise, which made headlines in the summer when a now ex-engineer claimed it was sentient. Since then, the tech giant has started running a very limited trial to put it through its paces.