AI: Baidu unveils a ChatGPT rival that disappoints the markets


In the shadow of the American giants Microsoft, Google and Meta, the Chinese tech heavyweights want to show that they can do better than ChatGPT, the conversational robot that has fascinated as much as worried for more than three months. But it is clear that some still have a lot of work to even match the generative artificial intelligence of OpenAI. This is particularly the case of Baidu, the equivalent of Google in China, which unveiled this Thursday, March 16, its conversational robot intended to compete with ChatGPT.

However, the presentation made by Robin Li, the general manager of the Chinese group, did not have the desired effect, since the action of the company immediately fell by 10% on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Baidu ultimately ended the trading session down 6.4%, which caused the company to lose more than $3 billion in valuation. And for good reason, investors and analysts were disappointed by the first version of Ernie Bot, the name of this conversational robot, presented by Baidu.

Ernie Bot is “lower” to ChatGPT

Not only is it only a beta version, the Chinese group has not even ventured to give a launch date, but in addition, the capabilities of this AI model are much more limited than ChatGPT. Ernie Bot understands several Chinese dialects, but is much less relevant in English. In addition, the version presented is limited to Mandarin and is only aimed at the Chinese market. But the company still hoped to impress the audience with pre-recorded videos showing the chatbot performing mathematical calculations, writing poems or generating images and videos.

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Baidu’s seduction operation therefore ended in failure, with analysts pointing to a disappointing monologue and tool. Robin Li also admitted that Ernie Bot was “lower” to ChatGPT. “So why are we unveiling it today? Because the market demands it”, he also said. If the honesty of the leader is to be welcomed, it has however cost the group dearly on the stock market. Baidu will therefore have to take care of its next presentations on the subject, otherwise it will still be heavily sanctioned on the markets.

Google also knows a ray of it because of a blunder of its conversational robot Bard in an advertisement presenting the tool. Once the error was discovered, the American firm had lost 100 billion dollars on Wall Street in one day. The tech giants involved in the battle for generative AI will therefore be keen to avoid further mistakes or disappointments, as OpenAI continues to make a strong impression in the world. This week, the Californian start-up, very strongly supported by Microsoft, has also announced the release of GPT-4, its new model of artificial intelligence.



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