Chinese internet giant, Baidu is making history by becoming the first company to offer its generative artificial intelligence (GAI)-powered chatbot, Ernie Bot, to the general public.
The move comes after Baidu and other local tech firms received the green light from Chinese authorities to launch services akin to ChatGPT.
This is the first time that the Chinese public would be getting a taste of generative AI as popular tools like ChatGPT and Google’s Bard are banned in the country.
The launch was well recieved with the Ernie bot App claiming the No. 1 spot on the Apple Store's free app rankings in China within 12 hours of its release.
Approvals in place
According to a Bloomberg report, several Chinese technology companies had previously obtained approval from the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) to introduce large language models (LLMs) similar to ChatGPT.
However, those services were restricted to specific user groups, such as enterprise clients and media, due to licensing requirements.
Baidu plans to integrate Ernie Bot into various platforms, including cloud computing and smart speakers, anticipating that the technology will substantially benefit these sectors.
Since its public release, the ERNIE Bot (文心一言) app has attracted a massive user base. Powered by ERNIE 3.5, it offers real-time info, data visualization, text-to-video conversion, and more.
Your feedback matters in shaping its future ⬇️
- For individuals: Try at… pic.twitter.com/zxbSxmdeSn
— Baidu Inc. (@Baidu_Inc) August 31, 2023
Front runner
Baidu has been a front-runner in the race to develop LLMs, following years of investment in AI technologies.
It initially launched Ernie Bot in March.
Other competitors, including Alibaba with its LLM Tongyi, Huawei's Pangu, and Tencent's Hunyuan, have also heavily invested in generative AI, although their services have not yet reached the general public.
The CAC mandates that generative AI service providers monitor for "illegal" content, halt its generation, enhance algorithms, and report any such content to relevant authorities.