ChatGPT Rival: Baidu, Chinese Search Giant, Launches a Competitor to the Sensational Chatbot

In a significant move, Chinese tech giants are stepping up their competition against major US counterparts. Baidu, one of China's tech leaders, unveiled its public offering of ERNIE Bot, a formidable rival to ChatGPT, on Thursday.

This development signifies a significant leap for China's tech industry, as it seeks to capitalize on the worldwide frenzy surrounding artificial intelligence.

To support its tech developers in staying competitive with global players like Microsoft and OpenAI, the Chinese government recently introduced new regulations for AI. These regulations strike a balance by allowing technological advancements while maintaining strict control over online information flow.

ERNIE Bot has achieved a significant milestone as China's inaugural domestic AI application to be accessible to the public. According to a report by AFP news agency, this AI innovation remains exclusive to China and is not accessible beyond its borders.

In a statement released on Thursday, Baidu expressed their excitement regarding ERNIE Bot's availability to the general public, officially commencing on August 31.

In addition to ERNIE Bot, Baidu is set to launch a suite of new AI-native apps that allow users to fully experience the four core abilities of generative AI: understanding, generation, reasoning, and memory.

ERNIE Bot was released in March but its availability was limited.

By making it widely available, Baidu will be able to gain “massive” human feedback to improve the app at a swift pace, CEO Robin Li was quoted as saying in the statement.

Generative AI apps are trained on vast amounts of data as well as their interactions with users so they can answer questions, including complex ones, in human-like language.

The rapid success of US-based OpenAI’s ChatGPT – which is banned in China – sparked an international race to develop rival apps, including image and video generators, but also widespread alarm about the potential for abuse and disinformation.

Baidu, a prominent Chinese tech giant, has encountered fierce competition from companies like Tencent across multiple industries.

Apart from its focus on AI, Baidu has been making strides in expanding its cloud computing division and advancing autonomous driving technology.

In parallel developments, Bloomberg recently disclosed that SenseTime, another Chinese tech heavyweight listed in Hong Kong, has gained approval from Beijing for its services.

Source: Arabian Business