Chinese online search giant Baidu’s Ernie Bot joins iFlytek’s Spark on Apple’s mainland App Store, but local AI chatbots still on trial mode

Ernie Bot and Spark are the first ChatGPT alternatives developed by local Big Tech firms to get listed on Apple’s App Store on the mainland
Internet regulator the Cyberspace Administration of China has yet to issue a licence for any generative AI product in the country

Artificial intelligence

Ann Caoin Shanghai

Published: 7:00pm, 5 Jul 2023

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Baidu’s Ernie Bot has become the second local ChatGPT alternative developed by a local Big Tech company to get listed on Apple’s mainland App Store after the debut of iFlytek’s Spark in June, heating up the competition among artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots in the world’s second-largest economy.

Ernie Bot, which was launched in March, was listed in the domestic iOS store’s productivity apps category, behind cloud service Baidu Wangpan. The AI chatbot was rated a 4.2 out of 5, based on a total of 248 ratings it had received as of Wednesday.

Developed by Beijing Baidu Netcom Science & Technology Co, Ernie Bot is free to download like Spark, but it is only accessible to users who had previously gained test qualification on the chatbot’s web version. New users must apply online to gain access to the app.

The service, however, remains on trial mode because Beijing has not allowed ChatGPT and other generative AI services to be made available to the general public. That means Ernie Bot users are required to obtain an additional permit to use any of the app’s functions after downloading it.

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Generative AI describes algorithms that can be used to create new content, including audio, code, images, text, simulations and videos. Recent breakthroughs in the field have the potential to drastically change the way people approach content creation.

The government’s proviso of limitations on Ernie Bot and other AI chatbots from various developers found on Apple’s China App Store reflects the concerns of regulators about the power of generative AI and its potential for disruption.

Internet regulator the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) has yet to issue a licence for any generative AI product in the country, even as Big Tech firms like internet search giant Baidu, Alibaba Group Holding and iFlytek have rolled out ChatGPT-like services on a trial basis. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.

All generative AI algorithms and products must go through security testing and review by the CAC before these can be made available to the public. US start-up OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Bard are not available in China’s closed market.

China to get new AI legislation ready for review this year

China is expected to have a draft of its AI law ready for review by the country’s lawmakers within this year, as Beijing moves to lead the world in rolling out new regulation for this technology amid rapid advances exemplified by ChatGPT.

Baidu, meanwhile, has started to embed the beta version of its “AI Mate” chatbot service on its flagship online search product. AI Mate – comparable to Microsoft Corp’s Bing Chat – in May appeared at the top right side of the Chinese search engine’s landing page for certain users. It adopts the technology from Ernie Bot.

Beijing-based Baidu has yet to announce a specific timeline for the formal launch of Ernie Bot on smartphones.

By comparison, OpenAI in May started to roll out its mobile version of ChatGPT for iOS devices in the US and a number of other countries.

Baidu charts an AI future after posting better-than-expected earnings

Still, Baidu last month said the large language model (LLM) behind Ernie Bot has already outperformed ChatGPT in key metrics.

LLMs are deep-learning AI algorithms that can recognise, summarise, translate, predict and generate content using very large data sets. These represent the technology used to train AI chatbots like ChatGPT.

Citing a test by state-run newspaper China Science Daily, Baidu said its latest LLM, Ernie 3.5, had surpassed ChatGPT 3.5 in comprehensive ability tests and outperformed the more advanced ChatGPT 4 in several Chinese-language capabilities.

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