Chinese tech heavyweights release new AI language models

A batch of Chinese companies and research institutions on Thursday opened their artificial intelligence-powered large language models to the public after receiving approval from Chinese authorities.

They include Chinese tech heavyweight Baidu Inc and ByteDance; AI firms Baichuan Intelligent Technology, SenseTime, Zhipu AI, MiniMax; as well as research institutes the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Shanghai Artificial Intelligence Laboratory.

Baidu announced on Thursday that its large language model Ernie Bot will be fully open to the general public starting from Thursday.

Users can download Ernie Bot from various app stores or experience it through its official website, with the company also set to launch a suite of new AI-native apps.

Baidu Co-founder and CEO Robin Li said by making Ernie Bot available to hundreds of millions of internet users, Baidu will collect massive valuable real-world human feedback. This will not only help improve the company's foundation model but also iterate Ernie Bot on a much faster pace.

In July, Chinese authorities issued a 24-item guideline for managing generative AI services. The country will encourage the innovative development of generative AI and supervise the technology using methods compatible with innovation and development, according to interim measures.

The authorities also said providers who wanted to offer services to the public would need to submit security assessments.

fanfeifei@chinadaily.com.cn