China also has high hopes for the artificial intelligence business. Now the government has approved several competitors of the text robot ChatGPT. The state leadership controls exactly how the programs work.
In the race with the West for technological supremacy in artificial intelligence (AI), China has taken the next step. The Chinese government has given the green light to several domestic ChatGPT rivals, including chatbot Ernie, which are now fully open to the public, search engine operator Baidu announced today.
Similar announcements also came from startups SenseTime, Baichuan, and Zhipu AI. So far, these AI programs were only reserved for selected users, which was considered a competitive disadvantage because AI learns with every input. The text robot ChatGPT from the Microsoft holding OpenAI attracted more than 100 million users within a few weeks of its market launch in November 2022.
Algorithms deposited with the authorities
Baidu’s “Ernie” is considered the most promising challenger from China. The company is self-confident: The current version of the AI is even doing better than ChatGPT in some areas, according to the manufacturer.
In the People’s Republic, providers of freely accessible AI must carry out security assessments and deposit their algorithms with the authorities. According to experts, the government wants to prevent chatbots from influencing social views in undesirable directions. The government emphasizes that AI content must be in line with the country’s core socialist values.
Growing list of AI licenses in China
According to media reports, a total of eleven companies have now received approval for their AI, including TikTok parent ByteDance and video game provider Tencent. It remained unclear whether the Alibaba Group was also one of the license holders. A spokesman for Alibaba’s cloud division said it had submitted all the required documentation.
“Those who already have an approval gain a competitive advantage because they can perfect their products faster than the competition,” said Morningstar analyst Kai Wang.
However, Shawn Yang of wealth advisor Blue Lotus warned that not all of the roughly 80 major Chinese language models that form the basis of AI such as ChatGPT will prevail. “Only the companies with sufficient training data and the necessary technical knowledge will be able to advance the development.”