Alrighty, folks, gather ’round! The tech scene’s buzzing with the latest scoop from the heart of Beijing. The big kid on China’s tech block, Baidu (hello, NASDAQ:BIDU!), pulled the curtains off their shiny new AI toy: Ernie 4.0. They’re dropping hints that this whiz kid might just give the famed ChatGPT’s GPT-4 a run for its money!
Robin Li, Baidu’s main man, was all jazzed up showing off Ernie’s fancy new tricks. Picture this: Ernie, writing a martial arts novel on the fly! Not enough pizzazz for you? How about whipping up ad posters and vids? Cool beans, right?
But, get this, not everyone’s sold. Some tech gurus, like our pal Lu Yanxia over at IDC, reckon the new Ernie’s debut wasn’t all that snazzy compared to its old self. And the stock market? Baidu’s shares took a teeny dip this morning, even when the Hang Seng Index was feeling a bit chipper.
Lu chimed in, “We gotta roll up our sleeves and see Ernie 4.0 in action to really spot the upgrades. Right now? Kinda hard to tell.” But it’s not all cloudy skies! Baidu’s weaving this AI magic into everything – from Baidu Drive to their Maps. Speaking of maps, Robin showcased how chit-chatting with Baidu Map in plain ol’ English gets you around, a far cry from the old click-a-thon.
History lesson! Baidu’s not some new kid on the block. They’ve been spearheading the AI game in China, especially after the world went gaga over ChatGPT last year. Their Ernie even has a sibling – ErnieBot – though the fam didn’t spill all the beans during its intro.
And the cherry on top? August saw Baidu get the government’s green light to let Ernie play with the public. In no time, this AI wonder raked in a whopping 45 million users! Wang Haifeng, Baidu’s tech guru, spilled the beans at the event.
Zooming out, China’s no slouch in the AI arena. With 130 of those big-brained language models, they’re holding a solid 40% slice of the global pie, trailing only behind Uncle Sam’s 50%.
But, hold your horses! Just last week, Beijing put out some ground rules, including a no-no list for training these smarty-pants AIs.
What’s next for Ernie and the gang? Only time will tell, but for now, keep those ears to the ground and eyes on the prize, tech fans!
