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Baidu teases Ernie 4 large language model after China approves ChatGPT-style chatbots for public use

  • The Beijing-based search giant will soon launch a new version of its large language model, founder and CEO Robin Li says
  • Baidu Cloud says nearly 10,000 clients are actively using Qianfan, its model-as-a-service platform, to train AI models and build applications

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Baidu founder and CEO Robin Li Yanhong announces the upcoming launch of its latest large language model, Ernie 4, on Tuesday. Photo: Handout
Ben Jiangin Beijing

Baidu, the Chinese internet search giant that opened its chatbot to the general public last week, said it would soon launch the latest version of its large language model (LLM), casting a fresh vote of confidence in the nation’s artificial intelligence (AI) sector after Beijing granted its first batch of approvals for ChatGPT-style services.

Robin Li Yanhong, founder and CEO of Baidu, announced the imminent arrival of the Ernie 4 model at a conference held by the company’s cloud computing unit in Beijing on Tuesday, calling it “one of the best LLMs”.

Ernie 4 can be used to build AI applications for use across a wide range of traditional industries and business scenarios to improve efficiency, Li said.

LLMs are the deep-learning algorithms that underpin a new generation of AI chatbots capable of understanding and generating human-like answers to specific prompts. Last week, for the first time, China gave several tech companies the green light to introduce such AI chatbots to the public.

Baidu Cloud on Tuesday also announced an upgrade to Qianfan, its model-as-a-service platform, and the launch of an ecosystem partners programme.

Qianfan now hosts 42 mainstream LLMs from China and abroad, including Facebook owner Meta Platform’s Llama 2 and Google’s Flan, as well as models from the Beijing Academy of Artificial Intelligence, according to Shen Dou, president of Baidu Cloud.

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