Baidu claims its latest chatbot, Ernie 3.5 superior to ChatGPT

A renowned Chinese tech company, Baidu, has stated that its latest chatbot powered by the advanced AI model Ernie 3.5 is superior to ChatGPT based on several parameters. Ernie Bot, which was founded on Baidu’s foundational model, is currently going through public testing.  The AI tool has been on version 2.0 since May 23, with version 2.1.0 out on June 21. Developed using a vast dataset, Baidu’s foundational model serves as the backbone for their artificial intelligence initiatives. The latest version has ChatFile plugin as well as upgraded computational and creative writing skills

Baidu made the statement on Tuesday that its Ernie 3.5 surpasses GPT-4 and ChatGPT on many levels. Baidu claimed that when both tools went through standard tests like AGIEval and C-Eval, Ernie 3.5 was superior to ChatGPT. 

The China Science Journal attested to Ernie 3.5’s superiority as it performed better than GPT-4 in certain tests in the Chinese Language. Among the tests, one was similar to college entry exams.

 “Any applications involving language, text, or code can potentially utilize ERNIE Bot”

Dr Haifeng Wang on the capabilities of ERNIE

Competition in Generative AI

If not anything, Baidu’s commitment to improvement attests to the fierce competition in the generative AI space. Moreover, the proliferation of tech startups in the US and China has been impressive. 

According to Baidu, the new model has better interference efficiency that will position it for cheaper and faster replications later. It also has external plugins that will allow it to work on specific scenarios like summarizing long write-ups and providing accurate answers

Baidu made the announcement amid an international AI buzz that ChatGPT started, which has spread even to China, leading to an increase in the announcement of rival products by domestic companies 

Baidu, being the first Chinese company to launch an AI product to directly challenge ChatGPT, has paved the way for other tech corporations in China, including Tencent Holdings and Alibaba, to unveil their own AI models.

Photo Credit: Baidu