Baidu says AI chatbot Ernie now matches OpenAI’s GPT-4, unveils new enterprise tools

Baidu, the Chinese internet search behemoth, has introduced an upgraded version of its AI chatbot, Ernie Bot. The company claims that this new version is as potent as OpenAI's GPT-4, showcasing its ambition in the field of generative artificial intelligence (AI). Robin Li Yanhong, the co-founder and CEO of Baidu, demonstrated the capabilities of Ernie Bot 4 at the Baidu World 2023 conference in Beijing. He highlighted the bot's proficiency in comprehending complex queries, generating images, and performing basic arithmetic. nnAccording to Li, Ernie Bot has undergone a series of significant enhancements in its abilities to understand, suggest, reason, and remember. He asserted that its generalized abilities are in no way inferior to GPT-4. Amidst a race to keep pace with OpenAI, the Microsoft-backed start-up that launched ChatGPT in November 2022, Chinese firms have rolled out more than 100 large language models this year. However, ChatGPT and its competitors like Google's Bard are not officially available in mainland China or Hong Kong. In their absence, Chinese tech giants like Baidu and Alibaba, along with hardware manufacturers like Vivo and Oppo, have been promoting their own AI products. These products are designed to circumvent the types of sensitive questions and responses that have made third-party ChatGPT apps a target of local regulators. nnChinese authorities have issued new guidelines and regulations this year to ensure that AI-generated content aligns with official narratives. For instance, a proposed regulation published by a government body this week suggests using a blacklist system to block LLM training data materials in which more than 5 per cent of the content is deemed illegal. When asked questions on topics considered sensitive in China, Baidu's Ernie Bot redirects the conversation to other subjects. Baidu had previously claimed that its Ernie Bot 3. 5 had surpassed OpenAI's GPT 3. 5 in comprehension when it launched that version in June. The company even stated that it outperformed GPT-4 in some Chinese-language capabilities. In recent months, Baidu has revamped several of its apps, including search and maps, to incorporate new capabilities that draw on Ernie Bot. Baidu first launched Ernie Bot trials in March, and opened it up to the general public after receiving government approval in August. It now boasts a user base of 45 million and 54,000 developers. Baidu also announced a new enterprise-grade AI tool to assist businesses in writing market analysis reports. However, Baidu's shares in Hong Kong fell by 1. 7 per cent on Tuesday afternoon.