China's Baidu cancels showcase for ChatGPT rival Ernie

Baidu cancels showcase for ChatGPT rival Ernie

Baidu
, the Chinese tech giant, has canceled a public event to promote its artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot, Ernie. The event was scheduled to be livestreamed and open to the media and public. Instead, Baidu has opted for a closed-door meeting with companies that are testing the AI-powered bot. The change in format is to cater to the “strong demand” from 120,000 firms that have registered for the chance to test Ernie.

Ernie was unveiled earlier this month to a muted reaction, as the chatbot lacked features included in OpenAI’s ChatGPT’s follow-up GPT-4. Baidu’s shares fell after a prerecorded demonstration by CEO Robin Li showed that Ernie could not generate text in response to an image. However, the firm's shares later rebounded strongly as users shared their experiences of the platform online.

Baidu’s Ernie is one of several AI chatbots that Chinese companies have rolled out to compete with OpenAI’s ChatGPT. However, analysts suggest that Beijing's strict controls on the internet may hamper Chinese companies' efforts to emulate ChatGPT, as chatbots require sources of information from the internet to emulate human speech. Nonetheless, local versions such as Ernie could still find success in the domestic market.

The Chinese government has pledged to support the development of AI, and several Chinese tech giants, including Huawei, Alibaba, and Tencent, are working on their own versions of the technology.

In conclusion, Baidu's decision to cancel a public event to promote its AI chatbot Ernie is a sign of strong demand from firms looking to test the product. Despite the challenges posed by Beijing's strict internet controls, Chinese companies are still pursuing AI development, and local versions such as Ernie could succeed in the domestic market.

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