Baidu launches a new version of Ernie AI that competes with GPT-4

CEO Robin Li introduced Ernie 4.0 at an event in Beijing, focusing on what he described as the model's memory capabilities and showing how it writes martial arts novels in real time. any. In addition, Ernie 4.0's ability to create posters and promotional videos was also demonstrated during this event.

However, analysts were not impressed. The launch of Ernie 4.0 lacks major highlights compared to the previous version, said analyst Lu Yanxia at industry consulting firm IDC.

Baidu's Hong Kong shares fell 1.32% in morning trading, underperforming the 0.7% gain in the Hang Seng index (.HIS).

"We will see significant improvements when Ernie 4.0 is in real use, but specific upgrades are not immediately apparent," Ms. Lu said .

Lu said other important announcements from the event include the integration of Baidu's Generative AI across all of its products, including Baidu Drive and Baidu Maps.

Mr. Li described how Baidu Map now allows users to access functions using natural language queries provided by Ernie, whereas users previously had to search through thousands of options.

Baidu, the owner of China's largest Internet search engine, is pioneering AI models in China amid a global craze for the technology sparked by the launch of ChatGPT last year.

The company launched an Ernie-powered chatbot in March, named ErnieBot, although investors were disappointed that only pre-recorded demos were shown.

In August, Baidu was among the companies that received government approval to release AI products to the public. Baidu's chief technology officer, Wang Haifeng, said during the event that Ernie has amassed 45 million users since it opened for public use.

Data from brokerage firm CLSA shows that China currently has at least 130 large language models (LLMs), accounting for 40% of the global total and just behind the United States (accounting for 50%).

Last week, Beijing announced proposed security requirements for companies providing services powered by the technology, including a blacklist of sources that cannot be used to train such models. WHO.

David Pac

Update 18 October 2023