Baidu's Ernie 4.0 Unveiled to Challenge GPT-4

In a recent unveiling, Chinese technology behemoth Baidu (9888.HK) introduced the latest iteration of its generative artificial intelligence (AI) model, Ernie 4.0.

Baidu's CEO, Robin Li, showcased the model's capabilities at a notable event held in Beijing, emphasizing its memory functions. Ernie 4.0 was exhibited crafting a martial arts novel in real-time, as well as generating advertising materials such as posters and videos.

However, industry analysts were less enthusiastic about the launch, suggesting that Ernie 4.0 didn't bring significant enhancements compared to its predecessor.

Lu Yanxia, an analyst at industry consultancy IDC, mentioned the absence of major highlights in this release.

Related: Introducing ChatGPT Enterprise, OpenAI's Biggest Announcement Since the Launch of ChatGPT

Following the announcement, Baidu's Hong Kong shares experienced a 1.32% decline in morning trading, contrasting with a 0.7% rise in the broader Hang Seng Index (.HIS).

Lu further elaborated that while substantial improvements might be evident with hands-on usage of Ernie 4.0, immediate tangible upgrades were not readily apparent.

Lu highlighted other noteworthy announcements from the event, particularly Baidu's integration of generative AI across its entire product range, encompassing Baidu Drive and Baidu Maps.

Li showcased how Baidu Map now enables users to access functions using natural language queries powered by Ernie, simplifying the user experience compared to the previous necessity of sifting through an array of options.

Baidu, renowned as the proprietor of China's largest internet search engine, stands at the forefront of AI models within China, paralleling the global surge of interest in AI technology triggered by the introduction of ChatGPT by OpenAI last year.

Earlier this year in March, the company introduced a chatbot driven by Ernie, dubbed ErnieBot, although investors were somewhat disappointed with pre-recorded demonstrations.

In August, Baidu was among several firms that received government approval to release AI products to the public.

Baidu's Chief Technology Officer, Wang Haifeng, mentioned that Ernie has already garnered an impressive 45 million users since its public availability.

Recent data from brokerage CLSA revealed that China now hosts at least 130 large language models (LLMs), constituting 40% of the global total and trailing only the United States at 50%.

Just last week, Beijing laid out proposed security requirements for companies offering services powered by AI technology.

These guidelines included a blacklist of sources that are not permitted for training AI models.

Yelin Mo, Eduardo Baptista, Brenda Goh / Reuters