AI frenzy: Chinese tech firms are scrambling to make AI generative bots like ChatGPT

It seems that Chinese businesses and the public alike simply cannot have enough of AI-generative bots, and the wonders they are capable of.   However, given that OpenAI’s ChatGPT and other American AI-generators are not accessible in the country legally, tech companies in China are in a frenzy to develop and launch their own AI-bots. China’s obsession with ChatGPT OpenAI, which is supported by Microsoft, has blocked access to its popular ChatGPT app in China, but the software is generating a tonne of interest there, with businesses scrambling to adopt the technology and introduce competing offerings. While locals are unable to sign up for OpenAI accounts to use the AI chatbot, some are getting around the limitations with the aid of virtual private networks and foreign phone numbers. The OpenAI models used in the ChatGPT programme, are also rapidly being used in Chinese consumer technology applications, such as social networks and online stores. **Also read: Indian IT jobs, firms in grave danger because of ChatGPT, AI models** Due to the tool’s explosive growth, China is becoming increasingly aware of how sophisticated American artificial intelligence is and, according to observers, exactly how far behind tech companies in the second-largest economy are as they try to catch up. “ChatGPT is generating a lot of enthusiasm. Contrary to the metaverse, which has a very tough time finding practical applications, ChatGPT has recently made it possible for us to engage with computers “said Ding Daoshi, a former director of the Beijing-based consultancy Sootoo and an independent internet analyst. “It will result in improvements that are more immediate, direct, and significantly quicker." US Sanctions in the way  Although OpenAI or ChatGPT are not prohibited by Chinese authorities, users from Hong Kong, Iran, Russia, and some regions of Africa are unable to join up with OpenAI. The San Francisco-based company stated in an emailed statement that “although we would prefer to make our technology available worldwide, situations in some countries make it difficult or impossible for us to do so in a way that is consistent with our objective.” “We are presently attempting to expand the regions where we can offer our tools in a secure and advantageous manner." WeChat, the most popular messaging app in China and owned by Tencent Holdings took down a number of ChatGPT-related programmes that had started to surface on the network in December, but new ones have since started to appear. **Also read: Meet GitaGPT, an AI bot inspired by the Bhagavad Gita, made by a Google employee** WeChat has seen the emergence of dozens of bots that are ChatGPT-enabled, with hobbyists utilising it to create scripts or automated accounts that can communicate with people. For 20 questions, at least one account charges customers 9.99 yuan ($1.47). China businesses interested in OpenAI’s bots ChatGPT is extremely capable of speaking in Chinese and facilitates Chinese language engagement, which has contributed to its unofficial popularity throughout the nation. Chinese businesses may obtain tools that enable them to incorporate AI technology into their goods by using proxy tools or current alliances like Microsoft, which is investing billions of dollars in its OpenAI. **Also read: Microsoft invests more than $10 billion in ChatGPT’s parent organisation OpenAI** Proximai, a company located in Shenzhen, presented a virtual character using ChatGPT’s underpinning technology in its 3D game-like social app in December. Kunlun Tech, a Beijing-based developer of entertainment software, intends to include ChatGPT in its Opera web browser. Tiger Global-backed Hong Kong firm SleekFlow said that it was using AI into its customer relations messaging solutions. China censoring ChatGPT-based proxy AI bots According to Henson Tsai, the creator of SleekFlow, “We have clients all around the world.” Among other things, ChatGPT does great translations, often even better than competing products. The chatbot is open to inquiries that would be delicate in mainland China. When asked about its opinions on Chinese President Xi Jinping, for example, it said that it did not have any personal beliefs and provided a variety of viewpoints. However, some of its proxy bots on WeChat have blocked such terms in compliance with China’s strict online control. One ChatGPT proxy bot answered by stating that the talk was forbidden when asked the identical question regarding Xi. Will Duan, the creator of Proximai, stated that his platform will filter the information made available to users as they interacted with ChatGPT in order to comply with Chinese regulations. Chinese officials have not commented on ChatGPT; nevertheless, state media this week cautioned about stock market dangers amid a craze around local ChatGPT-concept stocks. Chinese regulators enacted guidelines last year to tighten oversight of “deepfake” technology. According to Rogier Creemers, an assistant professor at Leiden University, “the Chinese government is saying with the laws announced last year: we already see this technology coming and we want to stay ahead of the curve." “I completely anticipate that the vast bulk of the stuff produced by AI will be non-political." China’s own AI bots Some of the biggest IT companies in the nation have joined the conversation, including Baidu and Alibaba, whose shares have soared this week after they provided updates on the AI models they have been developing. A significant AI model that Baidu has been working on since 2019 called “Ernie Bot” will finish internal testing in March, the search engine company said this week. **Also read: Baidu set to finish testing ChatGPT-like project called 'Ernie Bot' by March** Alibaba said on Wednesday that its research centre Damo Academy was also exploring a ChatGPT-like technology. Duan said that ChatGPT was at least a generation more potent than China’s current NLP solutions, while it was poorer in certain areas, such as comprehending conversation context. Duan’s business has been employing a Baidu AI chatbot dubbed Plato for natural language processing. The foundation of ChatGPT is an upgrade of OpenAI’s GPT-3, or Generative Pre-trained Transformer, which was originally made available in 2020. Chinese businesses would probably replace ChatGPT with a local alternative if they could match the functionality of the American-developed product, according to Duan, who noted that there may be long-term compliance problems. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.