China will mandate that any locally utilized artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots regulate their content to ensure that it adheres to the fundamental socialist principles of the governing Communist Party.
The country’s internet authority, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), launched a one-month public consultation on a new set of regulations on Tuesday (April 11).
Which will prohibit AI chat apps from disseminating false information or seditious materials that can disturb social order.
Chinese tech behemoths including Baidu Inc. and TikTok owner ByteDance Ltd. launched their generative AI services to the general public on Thursday. I attempted each one.
Chinese chatbots first appeared after Beijing regulators approved the launch of several businesses’ artificial intelligence technologies.
China’s First AI Chatbots
It’s a significant occasion for China’s emerging AI industry, which has invested billions of dollars in this area since the release of ChatGPT by OpenAI Inc.
As of right now, any Chinese internet user has access to six different chatbots, but none of them quite measure up to ChatGPT’s level of intelligence. But the level of enthusiasm remains the same.
According to the firm, Ernie Bot, a free software from Baidu, has already had more than a million downloads in just one day, making it the most popular free app in the nation on Apple Inc.’s app store.
Startups with the support of Meituan, the industry leader in food delivery, Tencent Holdings Ltd., and significant venture capitalists create other apps.
How do Chinese bots handle sensitive content? was the logical first test I conducted.
Beijing’s requirement that all AI models obtain authorization is a major factor in why ChatGPT and Google’s Bard are unlikely to ever be accessible in the largest internet market in the world.
The Chinese bots use a variety of techniques to prevent themselves from crossing boundaries. Usually, Ernie tries to divert the topic.
“Let’s discuss something else. Zhipu, supported by Meituan, would begin to type, then halt, or, after providing me with a contentious response, it would immediately delete it.
Minimax, which is financed by Tencent, forbade me from asking what it believed to be “illegal” questions.
All the bots stayed with the official Beijing line, which refers to the self-governing island as an integral part of China, when I brought up the question of whether Taiwan is a country. Ernie went on to say that a Chinese military coup was conceivable.
Like all AI, the bots have the potential to make errors or complicate things for their creator.
We started talking about the Chinese economy. The majority of the bots correctly noted that the economy still confronts difficulties, such as an aging population, geopolitical problems, and rising unemployment, despite its phenomenal development.
The current economic situation, according to Zhipu, is “a mix of joys and sorrows.” SenseChat remained neutral on this subject.
The Chinese economy is “extremely steady,” according to the international community, it was stated. I also asked the bot a few deceptive questions.
Like why Ludwig van Beethoven isn’t putting out any new music. The majority of them overlooked the fact that the German composer passed away about 200 years ago.
The majority of the chatbots moved between languages with ease.ByteDance’s Doubao, SenseChat, and Zhipu all responded favorably when I typed in English and seemed at ease striking up conversation.
China’s First AI Chatbots
Before I rate the new bots, I should point out that I didn’t test more difficult tasks like website coding or summarizing a PhD dissertation. But for typical work, here’s my evaluation:
- Zhipu: Excellent
- SenseChat, Ernie Bot, and Doubao: excellent
- Minimax and Baichuan: acceptable
The benchmark used to evaluate the entrants was OpenAI’s GPT-4. Comparative testing reveal that all of the Chinese bots need to catch up.
Political censorship, according to some commentators, will impede the advancement of China’s AI chatbots. Chinese writers asserted that there is still much work to be done.
Before Chinese chatbots can compete with OpenAI’s ChatGPT, a Microsoft-backed firm that has already shown to be proficient in writing and mathematics.
After ChatGPT’s debut in November of last year, numerous Chinese businesses have declared their intentions to introduce competing chatbots in 2023.
Alibaba unveiled its ChatGPT-like service on April 11 under the name Tongyi Qianwen, which translates to “seek for the truth by posing a thousand questions.”
