ChatGPT users in China test AI chatbot’s limits, but some worry about future job security

  • Chinese netizens have been producing professional content with ChatGPT, although OpenAI has not made its service available in the country
  • Analysts and ChatGPT itself agree that AI is not ready to take over for humans, but that has not stopped concerns about job automation

Coco Fengin Beijing
Stock prices have surged in China for any companies believed to have the technological prowess to create their own service similar to OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Photo: Reuters
Chinese netizens have been widely sharing tips on how to use ChatGPT, the viral artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot launched by start-up OpenAI just two months ago that is not officially available in the country, sending people racing to generate their own content ranging from stock analyses to smartphone reviews.

Amid growing hype around OpenAI’s technology, investors have ploughed money into any company remotely linked to ChatGPT-like services. Shenzhen-listed Hanwang Technology, which develops “neuro-linguistic programming”, saw its stock price double in the last eight trading days. Shares of Hong Kong-listed Zhihu, a Quora-like question-and-answer platform, jumped 40 per cent on Wednesday based on speculation that its data might enable a service like ChatGPT.

Print option is available for subscribers only.
SUBSCRIBE NOW
Copyright © 2025 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.