Hong Kong
CNN
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Several popular Chinese apps have removed access to ChatGPT. Artificial intelligence chatbots are taking the world by storm, even as major Chinese tech companies race to develop their own equivalents.
Developed by American research institute OpenAI, ChatGPT is not officially available in China, but some apps on Chinese social media platform WeChat offer access to chatbots without using a VPN or a foreign mobile number. was allowed.
Those doors appear to be closed. Earlier this week, the ChatGPTRobot and AIGC Chat Robot apps said their programs were suspended for “violating relevant laws and regulations,” though they were unable to specify which law.
Two other apps, ChatgptAiAi and Chat AI Conversation, said their ChatGPT services were taken offline due to “relevant business changes” and policy changes.
The app “Shenlan BL” was even more vague, citing “various reasons” for the shutdown.
It’s unclear what caused these shutdowns, but there are other indications that China may be unhappy with ChatGPT.Monday, state media Video published The chatbot could be used by U.S. authorities to “spread disinformation and manipulate public opinion,” it said, citing its response to Xinjiang as evidence of prejudice.
ChatGPT describes the Chinese government’s alleged human rights abuses against ethnic minorities in the Far West region when prompted in Xinjiang. This includes large amounts of bondage and forced labor. Beijing has repeatedly denied these accusations, claiming the camp was a “vocational education and training center” and has since been dismantled.
Other recent state media articles have expressed criticism and skepticism of ChatGPT, with China Daily citing the rise of ChatGPT as “strict regulation”
Shares of several Chinese tech companies fell Thursday after news spread that the WeChat app had removed its ChatGPT service. Beijing Haitian Ruisheng Technology, which develops and produces AI data products, closed 8.4% lower.
Meanwhile, AI product and service developers Hanwang Technology and Beijing Deep Glint Technology closed down 10% and 5.5%, respectively.
ChatGPT came out in December and quickly spread due to its ability to provide long, detailed, sometimes imprecise, responses to questions and prompts.
Since its release, the tool has been used to burn article At least one news publication, draft Research paper abstract He even managed to trick some scientists into passing graduate-level law and business exams (albeit with lower scores).
It also warns of unknown long-term effects, such as its impact on education and the ability of students to cheat on their homework.
Despite these concerns, ChatGPT’s success has spurred a global AI race.
Microsoft plans to invest billions in San Francisco-based company Earlier this month, Google announced that it would soon roll out Bard, its own answer to ChatGPT.
The Chinese government has tried to restrict major western websites and apps such as Google, Facebook and Amazon. condemnation from Several of digital protectionism.
Lacking foreign competition in the domestic market, Chinese tech companies have since grown to become major international players. Many are now gearing up to look to AI.
In early February, Chinese giant Alibaba announced that it was testing its own ChatGPT-style tool, but didn’t provide details on when it would start.
Developed by a team at Fudan University in China own version The app, called MOSS, quickly went viral and had too many users, causing the platform to crash this week.
And on Wednesday, tech giant Baidu announced that its AI chatbot ERNIE Bot, due for release in March, will be used across a range of platforms, including search engines, voice assistants in smart devices and even self-driving technology. .
Baidu CEO Robin Li said on the earnings call that the rollout “creates a new gateway to the next-generation internet,” adding, “More and more business owners and entrepreneurs will use our AI to create their own We look forward to building models and applications,” he added. cloud. ”
