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As anticipated, Ernie Bot (the identify stands for “Enhanced Representation from kNowledge IntEgration;” its Chinese identify is 文心一言, or Wenxin Yiyan) performs notably effectively on duties particular to Chinese tradition, like explaining a historic truth or writing a standard poem. (Li says as a Chinese firm, Baidu “has to perform better than any pre-trained LLMs” by way of understanding Chinese.)
But the spotlight of the product launch was Ernie Bot’s multimodal output function, which ChatGPT and GPT-4 don’t supply (OpenAI has bragged about GPT-4’s capacity to research a photograph of the contents of a fridge and provide you with recipe solutions, however the mannequin generates solely textual content). Li confirmed a recorded interplay with the bot the place it generated an illustration of a futuristic metropolis transportation system, used Chinese dialect to learn out a textual content reply, and edited and subtitled a video based mostly on the identical textual content. However, in later testing after the launch, a Chinese publication failed to breed the video technology.
The Chinese public has been hungry for a ChatGPT different; each OpenAI and the Chinese authorities have barred people in China from utilizing the American chatbot.
But up to now, Ernie Bot has been made accessible solely to a particularly choose pool of Chinese creators. Companies can apply for API entry. But Baidu has not stated whether or not the expertise will likely be accessible for customers. It’s additionally unclear when the bot will likely be built-in into Baidu’s different merchandise, like its search engine or self-driving vehicles, as the corporate promised.
Compared with the rollouts of ChatGPT and GPT-4, Ernie Bot’s launch felt rushed. The presentation didn’t function any reside demo however as a substitute used 5 pre-recorded periods. Li additionally repeatedly stated that Ernie continues to be imperfect and can enhance as soon as it reaches extra customers. Baidu’s inventory worth slipped by 6.4% on Thursday, and social media is filled with dissatisfied reactions.
Li appeared ready for such a response. “People have been asking me for a while: Why are you releasing [Ernie Bot] so soon? Are you ready for it?” he stated throughout his presentation. “From what I personally saw when conducting internal tests on Ernie Bot, it’s not perfect. But why do we want to release it today? Because the market demands it.”
The race to be the primary
While just a few ChatGPT-style bots have already been launched by Chinese firms or researchers, none of them has proven satisfying outcomes. MOSS, an English-language chatbot developed by Fudan University researchers in Shanghai, was met with such excessive demand that its server broke down inside a day of launch in late February. It has but to return. MiniMax, a Chinese startup, launched a chatbot known as Inspo earlier this month, but it surely has been suspected of merely repackaging the GPT-3.5 mannequin developed by OpenAI.
Many individuals anticipated that Baidu can be the primary Chinese firm to go face to face with ChatGPT. Back in 2019, Baidu launched a GPT-3 equal—Ernie 3.0. It additionally launched a decently highly effective text-to-image mannequin known as Ernie-ViLG final 12 months.