Chinese Internet giant Baidu Inc (百度) yesterday unveiled the newest version of its artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot Ernie, claiming it rivals the capabilities of OpenAI’s latest ChatGPT.
Baidu led Chinese technology firms in rolling out generative AI apps, which are trained on vast amounts of data and interactions with users to answer questions, even complex ones, in human-like language.
Released to the public in August, Ernie marked a major step for the Chinese technology sector, which is aiming to compete with the likes of Microsoft Corp and ChatGPT maker OpenAI while staying within strict government controls.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Baidu Inc founder and chief executive Robin Li (李彥宏) said during a presentation that Ernie’s “comprehension, creation, logic and memory ... are in no way inferior to those of GPT-4,” referring to OpenAI’s latest model.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) was unable to verify the claim.
Li then grilled Ernie with a series of puzzles and asked it to write the outline for a martial arts novel.
The bot set to work, gradually creating new characters as the audience followed the composition in real time on a giant screen.
The latest version of Ernie is currently open to select developers and not available to the public.
When tested by AFP in August, Ernie would ask to “change the topic” when queried on Taiwan and the Tiananmen Square Massacre.
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) is reportedly making another pass at Nissan Motor Co, as the Japanese automaker's tie-up with Honda Motor Co falls apart. Nissan shares rose as much as 6 percent after Taiwan’s Central News Agency reported that Hon Hai chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉) instructed former Nissan executive Jun Seki to connect with French carmaker Renault SA, which holds about 36 percent of Nissan’s stock. Hon Hai, the Taiwanese iPhone-maker also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), was exploring an investment or buyout of Nissan last year, but backed off in December after the Japanese carmaker penned a deal
SUPPORT: The government said it would help firms deal with supply disruptions, after Trump signed orders imposing tariffs of 25 percent on imports from Canada and Mexico The government pledged to help companies with operations in Mexico, such as iPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), shift production lines and investment if needed to deal with higher US tariffs. The Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday announced measures to help local firms cope with the US tariff increases on Canada, Mexico, China and other potential areas. The ministry said that it would establish an investment and trade service center in the US to help Taiwanese firms assess the investment environment in different US states, plan supply chain relocation strategies and
WASHINGTON POLICY: Tariffs of 10 percent or more and other new costs are tipped to hit shipments of small parcels, cutting export growth by 1.3 percentage points The decision by US President Donald Trump to ban Chinese companies from using a US tariff loophole would hit tens of billions of dollars of trade and reduce China’s economic growth this year, according to new estimates by economists at Nomura Holdings Inc. According to Nomura’s estimates, last year companies such as Shein (希音) and PDD Holdings Inc’s (拼多多控股) Temu shipped US$46 billion of small parcels to the US to take advantage of the rule that allows items with a declared value under US$800 to enter the US tariff-free. Tariffs of 10 percent or more and other new costs would slash such
SENSOR BUSINESS: The Taiwanese company said that a public tender offer would begin on May 7 through its wholly owned subsidiary Yageo Electronics Japan Yageo Corp (國巨), one of the world’s top three suppliers of passive components, yesterday said it is to launch a tender offer to fully acquire Japan’s Shibaura Electronics Co for up to ¥65.57 billion (US$429.37 million), with an aim to expand its sensor business. The tender offer would be a crucial step for the company to expand its sensor business, Yageo said. Shibaura Electronics is the world’s largest supplier of thermistors, with a market share of 13 percent, research conducted in 2022 by the Japanese firm showed. If a deal goes ahead, it would be the second acquisition of a sensor business since