Chinese generative AI programs similar to ChatGPT are having a moment in the sun after Baidu became the first Chinese tech company to roll out its large language model, Ernie Bot, to the general public.
Previously, access to the program required an application or was limited to corporate clients. However, the public response has been enthusiastic, with Baidu reporting that the Ernie mobile app reached one million users in just 19 hours after the announcement. In the first 24 hours, the program responded to more than 33.42 million user questions, an average of 23,000 questions per minute.
Other Chinese companies have followed suit, with facial recognition giant SenseTime and three young startups—Zhipu AI, Baichuan AI, and MiniMax—making their chatbot products widely available. However, more experienced players like Alibaba and iFlytek are still awaiting regulatory approval.
Chinese AI chatbots are gaining traction, offering features such as quick suggestions, role-playing, and user-generated content.
Zoe Yang, Far East tech editor for Technology Review at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, downloaded the Ernie Bot app last week to try it out. She was curious how it differed from its predecessors, such as ChatGPT.
“I noticed first that [Ernie Bot] does a lot of handholding,” Yang says. Unlike the general ChatGPT app or website, which is just a chat box, the Baidu app contains many features designed to welcome and engage new users.
Within Ernie Bot’s chat box is an endless list of quick suggestions, such as “Create a baby name” and “How to write a business report.” Another tab called “Discovery” features over 190 predefined topics, including fun challenges like “Convince the AI Boss to Raise My Salary” and personalized “Finish Me” chat scenarios.
As it seems, the main challenge for Chinese AI companies is that now, with the government agreeing to open up to the public, they need to win over users and keep them interested.
For a lot of people, chatbots are a new thing right now. But that novelty will eventually wear off, and apps must ensure people have other reasons to stay.
Chatbots are designed to provide emotional support, but their success will depend on their ability to provide genuine support.
One of the smart things Baidu has done is include a tab for user-generated content in the app. In the community forum, users can see the questions other users have asked on the app and the text and photo responses they’ve gotten. Some of these responses are on point and fun, while others are off the charts. However, Yang can see how this inspires users to try entering their prompts and working to improve the answers.
Another noteworthy feature is Ernie Bot’s role-playing capabilities. One of the most popular categories on the Explore page asks the chatbot to respond with the voice of pre-trained characters, including Chinese historical figures like ancient emperor Qin Shi Huang, living celebrities like Elon Musk, cartoon characters, and fictional romantic partners.
“I asked Musk’s robot who he is, and he replied: (I am Elon Musk, passionate, focused, action-oriented, workaholic, dream-chasing, irritable, arrogant, tough, stubborn, smart, emotionless, oriented towards… “Highly goal-oriented, a person who is very resistant to pressure, and a quick learner.” Yang comments, “These personalities do not seem well trained.”
However, the most popular character, which more than 140,000 people already use, according to the app, is called “the understanding older sister.” When asked about her personality, she says she is “kind, mature, and good at listening to others.” When asked who trained her character, she answers that she was trained by “a group of professional psychology experts and artificial intelligence developers… based on the analysis of a large amount of linguistic and emotional data.”
AI chatbots have the potential to be a valuable tool, but they must be carefully developed and implemented in order to be effective.
“I won’t answer a question automatically like a regular AI,” says the “gentle big sister.” “But I will provide you with more considerate support by genuinely caring about your life and emotional needs.”
Notably, Chinese artificial intelligence companies have a special fondness for AI for emotional support. Xiaoice, one of China’s first AI assistants, made its name by allowing users to customize their ideal romantic partner.
Another startup, Timedomain, left a trail of broken hearts this year when it shut down its AI-powered voice service. Baidu appears to be preparing Ernie Bot for the same type of use.
The success of Ernie Bot and other AI chatbots will depend on their ability to provide genuine emotional support to users. If they can do that, they could significantly impact people’s lives.
