The Chinese tech giant Baidu has recently achieved a significant milestone with their AI-powered chatbot, named Ernie Bot, which saw its user interactions soar after its last update in December. The platform, introduced to the public eight months ago, has since approximated a doubling in its user base. According to Baidu’s CEO Robin Li, the chatbot’s application programming interface (API) registers a staggering 200 million uses daily. This reflects the demand for the bot’s capabilities in performing multiple tasks for users each day.
During a conference held in Shenzhen, Li revealed that Ernie Bot had attracted a robust clientele, boasting 85,000 corporate customers. He also mentioned to analysts in February that Baidu had begun profiting from Ernie, with AI integration helping enhance the company’s advertising services and supporting other companies in developing their models, ultimately earning several hundred million yuan in the fourth quarter.
Ernie Bot initially emerged as one of the local ChatGPT-like conversational agents unveiled in China but only gained its public release approval in August, among the first eight AI chatbots sanctioned by Beijing. Unlike many other nations, China mandates companies to secure approvals before rolling out productive AI services.
Recent data places Ernie Bot in close competition with native AI services like “Kimi,” a chatbot initiative supported by Alibaba for the past year. According to the numbers from AI tracking website AIcpb.com, Ernie Bot received a total of 14.9 million visits on its app and website last month, while Kimi was visited 12.6 million times. Interestingly, Kimi’s visits spiked by an extraordinary 321.6% from February to March, overshadowing the substantial 48% increase in visits to Baidu’s Ernie Bot.
Comparatively, China’s AI services still lag far behind their Western counterparts in global popularity. OpenAI’s ChatGPT continues to lead as the most popular productive AI service worldwide, having garnered a 9% increase last month, translating into 1.86 billion views, as reported by AIcpb.com.
Following China’s strategic emphasis on AI as a crucial sector in its tech race against the United States, the country has expedited the approval process for AI services. State media reported last week that to date, a total of 117 major AI models have received official approval.
Challenges and Controversies Associated with AI Chatbots in China:
AI chatbots in China, including Baidu’s Ernie Bot, face unique challenges compared to their Western counterparts due to strict government regulations and censorship requirements. For example, it is mandatory for companies to secure approvals before launching productive AI services, which can delay the roll-out process and affect the competitiveness of the products. Additionally, the need to implement censorship can also hinder the chatbot’s ability to provide open and comprehensive responses, potentially limiting user experience.
Furthermore, issues like data privacy concerns and potential misuse of AI for spreading misinformation or for surveillance are significant challenges. AI chatbots are often privy to large amounts of personal data, and there is a global debate on how this data is managed and used by tech companies, especially in China, where there are concerns over state surveillance and data control.
Advantages of AI Chatbots:
The main advantage of AI chatbots, including Baidu’s Ernie Bot, is their capacity to automate and personalize interactions at scale, saving time and resources for both companies and consumers. They can handle a multitude of tasks such as answering customer inquiries, providing recommendations, and supporting business operations, which enhances efficiency and user experience. Additionally, as shown by Ernie Bot’s usage by corporate customers, chatbots can significantly improve business services and aid in the development of new business models, contributing to economic growth.
Disadvantages of AI Chatbots:
Despite their benefits, AI chatbots also have downsides. The technology is not perfect and can often misinterpret or give inappropriate responses, which can impact customer satisfaction. Moreover, since the training of these models requires massive datasets, biases present in the training data can lead to discriminatory outcomes. The reliance on AI chatbots may also lead to reduced human employment in certain sectors, contributing to concerns over job displacement.
In the context of Baidu and Ernie Bot, potential disadvantages also include the risk of monopolization, given the company’s already strong influence in China’s tech industry, and the challenges of maintaining innovative edges against international competitors such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
For more information on Baidu, you can visit the company’s main website: Baidu.
For further details about OpenAI and its products: OpenAI.
Please note, the availability and accuracy of the numbers and details regarding user interactions are subject to change, as they depend on the data provided by the companies and third-party tracking websites.
The source of the article is from the blog trebujena.net