Chinese tech giant Baidu has released its new chatbot called Ernie Bot, following approval from the Chinese government. This is a significant development in China’s AI landscape, and Ernie Bot is now available for users to download. It works similarly to another popular chatbot called ChatGPT. Users can ask Ernie Bot questions, get help with market analysis, brainstorm marketing slogans, and even summarize documents.
Ernie Bot can be used by people worldwide, but there’s a catch. To use it, you need to have a Chinese phone number for registration and login. While the Baidu app is available on app stores in the US for both Android and iOS devices, it’s primarily in Chinese.
Baidu has also created a plug-in market for Ernie Bot, which means users can extend its capabilities and customize it to their needs.
Baidu’s representatives are thrilled to report that Ernie Bot gained over one million users within just 19 hours of its launch.
In addition to Ernie Bot, Baidu has big plans for AI. They intend to introduce a range of new AI-based apps that will let users experience the core abilities of generative AI, including understanding, creating, reasoning, and remembering.
Baidu’s co-founder and CEO, Robin Li, emphasized the importance of user feedback. He stated that Baidu will use feedback from real users to make Ernie Bot and its underlying AI model, called Ernie, even better.
Ernie Bot’s journey to its launch was not without hiccups. In the beginning, Baidu’s demos disappointed investors because they used prerecorded videos.
Before launching Ernie Bot and similar AI services, Baidu and other companies had to prove to the Chinese government that their technology was secure. They also had to show that they followed China’s rules for AI development.
Some of the other companies approved by the Chinese government for similar projects include SenseTime, Baichuan Intelligent Technology, Zhipu AI, and MiniMax.
In China, AI companies have to follow certain rules, including aligning with the country’s values and using legitimate data sources approved by the government.
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