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Artificial intelligence
TechPolicy

China’s state media warn of AI market bubble triggered by ChatGPT frenzy

  • An article published by the state-run Economic Daily cautions investors against chasing the ChatGPT hype with no regard to a potential bubble
  • The article says some stocks have ‘jumped in leaps and bounds’ despite not having made many AI breakthroughs

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A Chinese state media outlet has warned investors of a market bubble around the concept of ChatGPT. Photo: Reuters
Coco Fengin Beijing

A Chinese state-run newspaper has warned of a “market bubble” and “excessive hype” surrounding artificial intelligence (AI) technology such as ChatGPT, the intelligent chatbot developed by US start-up OpenAI that has been making waves around the world.

The article, titled “Bubble prevention needed while promoting AI”, was published on Monday by the Economic Daily – a newspaper founded by the State Council, China’s cabinet, and supervised by the ruling Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda department.

“While capital is chasing the ChatGPT concept, it needs to pay attention to avoid running into a bubble,” the article said, adding that some domestic stocks related to AI and large language models had soared by more than 50 per cent in the past two months.

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Stocks in China fell from a five-week high after the article was published, with a gauge of technology stocks sliding 3.8 per cent, the biggest loser among 10 industry groups in the CSI 300 Index. Hong Kong’s market is closed for the Easter holiday and will reopen on Tuesday.
Chinese companies have been touting plans to develop technology similar to ChatGPT, which was launched in November but is officially unavailable in China. They include Big Tech firms such as web search operator Baidu, which unveiled its Ernie Bot last month, and e-commerce giant and Post owner Alibaba Group Holding, which is running a beta test of its Tongyi Qianwen bot.

Shanghai-listed cybersecurity firm 360 Security Technology on Sunday began inviting users to register for an internal test of its ChatGPT rival “360 Smart Brain”, after it told investors in February that it had been investing in ChatGPT-related technologies since 2020.

Smaller firms have also jumped on the bandwagon.

Baidu CEO Robin Li Yanhong introduces Ernie Bot during an event in Beijing on March 16. Photo: AP Photo
Baidu CEO Robin Li Yanhong introduces Ernie Bot during an event in Beijing on March 16. Photo: AP Photo
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