From search engine provider Baidu to e-commerce giant Alibaba, everyone is jumping on ChatGPT, launching their own versions of the technology or linking their applications to the OpenAI service.
Baidu has named its artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot project “Wenxin Yiyan”, or “Ernie Bot” in English, and aims to “complete internal testing by March before launching. public eye,” the South China Morning Post quoted a representative of Baidu as saying on February 7. The company’s Hong Kong-listed shares rose 15% on the same day after the news.
Alibaba’s DingTalk business communication platform on Tuesday released new guidelines for adding ChatGPT to group chats via a valid token generated by the service but stressed that users “must comply with national laws and regulations” when using it.
China’s online luxury goods retailer Secoo Group also said on Friday it will conduct “in-depth and extensive research” on content generated by artificial intelligence (AIGC) and technologies related to ChatGPT. to “make real people-like communication”. The platform has been complained of being slow to respond to service requests from customers.
Chinese printer and lottery technology developer Hongbo announced to investors on February 7 that it is “developing and testing” related ChatGPT products. Shares of Shanghai-listed Chinese internet security firm 360 Security Technology rose to a daily limit of 10% on the same day, after saying the company has invested in “similar” technologies. like ChatGPT” since 2020.
According to financial services company UBS, ChatGPT has reached 100 million users globally just 2 months after its launch. Even in China, where the service isn’t available, users are still looking for access and businesses are trying to profit from the concept. On the Weibo page, hashtags “when will homemade ChatGPT alternatives be available” are trending among the top 10 topics recorded on the evening of February 6.
On Taobao, there are hundreds of sources that are providing ChatGPT accounts or helping to conduct chats using chatbots. However, it is difficult for mainland users to access the service even with a virtual private network, as opening an account requires a foreign phone number.
On Tencent Holdings’ WeChat app, many startups are offering ChatGPT alternatives. Shanghai-based Entropy Cloud Network Technology and Chengdu Yibai Technology have launched a chatbot that offers four free chats per user, with an annual subscription fee of nearly 1,000 employees. yuan (about 147 USD). When asked about its relationship with OpenAI, Entropy Cloud said that its chatbot, called ChatGPT Online, is “an AI system built on the same technology as ChatGPT’s”.
Charles Li, a Beijing-based cybersecurity consultant who has tried both versions of Entropy and Yibai, said it was a case of “companies trying to cash in on buzzwords”. Mr. Li asked ChatGPT some technical questions and got “very basic answers”. He added that the technology “has no opinion and judgment of its own”.
Meanwhile, Pan Helin, an adviser to China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, told National Business Daily on Feb. 2 that China needs to “bring in ChatGPT ” and “develop its own alternatives.” “, if you want to catch up with world technology trends.