As anticipated, Ernie Bot (the identify stands for “Enhanced Illustration from kNowledge IntEgration;” its Chinese language identify is 文心一言, or Wenxin Yiyan) performs significantly nicely on duties particular to Chinese language tradition, like explaining a historic reality or writing a conventional poem. (Li says as a Chinese language firm, Baidu “has to carry out higher than any pre-trained LLMs” when it comes to understanding Chinese language.)
However the spotlight of the product launch was Ernie Bot’s multimodal output characteristic, which ChatGPT and GPT-4 don’t provide (OpenAI has bragged about GPT-4’s means to investigate a photograph of the contents of a fridge and provide you with recipe options, 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 language dialect to learn out a textual content reply, and edited and subtitled a video primarily based on the identical textual content. Nevertheless, in later testing after the launch, a Chinese language publication failed to breed the video era.
The Chinese language public has been hungry for a ChatGPT different; each OpenAI and the Chinese language authorities have barred people in China from utilizing the American chatbot.
However to this point, Ernie Bot has been made accessible solely to a particularly choose pool of Chinese language creators. Firms can apply for API entry. However Baidu has not stated whether or not the know-how will probably be accessible for customers. It’s additionally unclear when the bot will probably be built-in into Baidu’s different merchandise, like its search engine or self-driving vehicles, as the corporate promised.
In contrast with the rollouts of ChatGPT and GPT-4, Ernie Bot’s launch felt rushed. The presentation didn’t characteristic any reside demo however as a substitute used 5 pre-recorded periods. Li additionally repeatedly stated that Ernie remains to be imperfect and can enhance as soon as it reaches extra customers. Baidu’s inventory value slipped by 6.4% on Thursday, and social media is filled with upset reactions.
Li appeared ready for such a response. “Folks have been asking me for some time: Why are you releasing [Ernie Bot] so quickly? Are you prepared for it?” he stated throughout his presentation. “From what I personally noticed when conducting inner exams on Ernie Bot, it’s not excellent. However why will we wish to launch it immediately? As a result of the market calls for it.”
The race to be the primary
Whereas a couple of ChatGPT-style bots have already been launched by Chinese language corporations or researchers, none of them has proven satisfying outcomes. MOSS, an English-language chatbot developed by Fudan College 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 language startup, launched a chatbot referred to 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 could be the primary Chinese language firm to go face to face with ChatGPT. Again in 2019, Baidu launched a GPT-3 equal—Ernie 3.0. It additionally launched a decently highly effective text-to-image mannequin referred to as Ernie-ViLG final 12 months.
