By Alibaba Group Holding Ltd has shown off its generative AI model – its
version of the tech that powers chatbot sensation ChatGPT – and
said it would be integrated into all of the company’s apps in
the near future.
The technology “will bring about big changes to the way we produce, the way we work and the way we live our lives,” CEO Daniel Zhang told the live-streamed event on Tuesday.
AI models like Tongyi Qianwen are “the big picture for making AI more popular in the future,” he added.
The unveiling, which came on the heels of the launch of a
slew of new AI products by SenseTime this week, was
swiftly followed by the government’s publication of draft rules
outlining how generative AI services should be managed.
In a filmed demonstration, the AI large language model,
named Tongyi Qianwen which means “truth from a thousand
questions”, drafted invitation letters, planned trip itineraries
and advised shoppers on types of makeup to purchase.
Tongyi Qianwen will initially be integrated into DingTalk,
Alibaba’s workplace messaging app and can be used to summarise
meeting notes, write emails and draft business proposals. It
will also be added to Tmall Genie, Alibaba’s voice assistant.
The Chinese internet giant’s cloud unit plans to open up
Tongyi Qianwen to clients so they can build their own customised
large language models and began registrations on Friday.
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New rules
The draft rules published by the Cyberspace Administration
of China said the country supported the technology’s innovation
and popularisation but the content generated had to adhere to “core
socialist values” as well as to laws on data security and
personal information protection.
Those who fall foul of the rules could face fines or
criminal investigation, it added.
The proposed rules, open for public comment until May 10,
come as governments around the world are looking at how best to
regulate generative AI technology, which has sparked much
concern about its ethical implications as well as its impact on
national security, jobs and education.
Italy last month temporarily banned ChatGPT – the chatbot
sensation developed by Microsoft-backed OpenAI that has
sparked the run of companies developing similar products.
Elon Musk and a group of artificial intelligence experts and
industry executives have also called for a six-month pause in
developing systems more powerful than OpenAI’s newly launched
GPT-4, in an open letter citing potential risks to society.
Charlie Chai, an analyst from 86Research, said Beijing’s new
rules would potentially slow down progress “in exchange for a
more orderly and socially responsible deployment of the
technology.”
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China’s censorship
They would also set up obstacles for foreign companies
looking to provide AI services in the country, benefiting
domestic companies, he added.
China has for years tightly censored its internet and
its tech giants are careful to toe the line, especially on
topics considered sensitive such as Chinese President Xi Jinping
and the 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations in
Tiananmen Square.
Search engine Baidu’s Ernie chatbot – one of
several AI models or chatbots revealed or teased by Chinese
companies – declined to answer questions on such topics or asked
to change the subject when quizzed by Reuters last month. The
bot remains open only to trial users at the moment.
Shares in Alibaba rose 1 percent in Hong Kong trade. Shares in SenseTime, whose new products include an AI chatbot called SenseChat, initially surged but were later flat.
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