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CEO
Robin Li introduced Ernie 4.0 at an event in Beijing, focusing
on what he described as the model's memory capabilities and
showing it writing a martial arts novel in real-time. He also
showed Ernie 4.0 creating advertising posters and videos.
Analysts were unimpressed. Ernie 4.0's launch lacked major
highlights versus the previous version, said Lu Yanxia, an
analyst at industry consultancy IDC.
Baidu's Hong Kong shares fell 1.32% in morning trading,
underperforming a 0.7% rise in the broader Hang Seng Index.
"We should see significant improvements once Ernie 4.0 is used
hands-on, but concrete upgrades aren't immediately clear," Lu
said.
Lu said other key announcements from the event included Baidu's
integration of generative AI across all its products, including
Baidu Drive and Baidu Maps.
Li demonstrated how Baidu Map now allows users to access
functions with natural language queries powered by Ernie,
whereas previously users had to search through thousands of
options.
Baidu, owner of China's largest internet search engine, is at
the forefront of AI models in China amid a global craze over the
technology sparked by the introduction of ChatGPT last year.
The firm launched a chatbot powered by Ernie in March, dubbed
ErnieBot, though investors were disappointed to be shown only
pre-recorded demonstrations.
In August, Baidu was among a number of firms to receive
government approval to release AI products to the public. Ernie
has amassed 45 million users since being opened for public use,
Baidu's chief technology officer Wang Haifeng said during the
event.
China now has at least 130 large language models (LLMs),
representing 40% of the global total and behind only the United
States' 50%, data from brokerage CLSA showed.
Last week, Beijing published proposed security requirements for
firms offering services powered by the technology, including a
blacklist of sources that cannot be used to train AI models.
(Reporting by Yelin Mo and Eduardo Baptista; Writing by Brenda
Goh; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Sonali Paul)
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