Last updated: February 18, 2023, 4:05 PM IST
Chatbots in China mainly focus on social interactions, while ChatGPT learns from huge amounts of data how to answer prompts. (Image: REUTERS/Florence Lo/Illustration)
The global buzz around Microsoft chatbot ChatGPT has spread to China, bolstering the shares of companies dealing with artificial intelligence (AI) and prompting a wave of local companies to announce rival projects.
BEIJING: The global buzz around Microsoft chatbot ChatGPT has spread to China, bolstering the shares of companies dealing with artificial intelligence (AI) and prompting a wave of local companies to announce rival projects.
Like Microsoft and Google, Chinese tech giants such as Baidu and Alibaba, as well as smaller start-ups, have been working on AI projects for years.
Chatbots in China mainly focus on social interactions, while ChatGPT, which learns from huge amounts of data how to answer users’ questions in a human way, performs better at more professional tasks, such as programming and essay writing.
Here is a list of Chinese tech companies that have recently made announcements about AI technology:
BAIDU
Baidu Inc said on Feb. 7 that it would complete internal testing of a ChatGPT-like project dubbed “Ernie Bot” in March.
ALIBABA
Alibaba Group said on Feb. 8 that it is developing a ChatGPT-style tool that is currently undergoing internal testing. The e-commerce giant said large language models and generative AI have been areas of focus since the foundation of its Damo Academy research institute in 2017.
TENCENT
Tencent Holdings said on Feb. 9 that it is researching the ChatGPT tool technology and the company will continue to invest in AI research based on its current technical reserves in the basic model, machine learning algorithms and natural language processing.
JD.COM
E-commerce company JD.Com said on Feb. 10 that it plans to launch a product similar to ChatGPT that it says will be called ChatJD and aimed at serving other businesses.
CHINA TELECOM
China Telecom Corp is developing an industrial version of ChatGPT for the telecommunications sector and will use AI in some customer service functions, local Chinese media reported Feb. 18.
NETEASE
Gaming company NetEase plans to deploy large language model technology to serve its education business, a source familiar with the company told Reuters on Feb. 8.
360 SECURITY TECHNOLOGY INC
360 Security Technology Inc said on Feb. 8 that it had language model technology but could not give a clear indication of when it would launch related products.
KUAISHOU TECHNOLOGY
Short video app Kuaishou Technology is researching major language models, which it will use to improve its products, such as AI customer service, the government-backed newspaper reported Feb. 9.
INSPUR ELECTRONIC INFORMATION INDUSTRY
Inspur Electronic Information Industry said on its investor relations website that it has long invested in AI-Generated Content (AIGC), from computation, algorithms to the application of the technology.
KUNLUN TECH
Beijing-based mobile games company Kunlun Tech said it planned to launch a Chinese version of ChatGPT this year whose code will be open source, the company said on its WeChat account on Thursday.
The company said in a separate statement that it will integrate ChatGPT into its Norway-based web browser Opera on Wednesday.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and was published from a syndicated news agency feed)
