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Elusive Ernie: China's new chatbot has a censorship problem

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Summary

China's newest chatbot, Ernie, has been launched by search engine giant Baidu to much fanfare. However, Ernie's responses are limited by China's censorship. Ernie is unable to answer questions about sensitive topics such as human rights violations in Xinjiang and Tibet, the health of Chinese leaders, or the Tiananmen Square crackdown. Ernie is one of many AI services approved to operate in China, and is seen as Baidu's great hope to bring in more advertising revenue. However, with other tech companies competing in the same space, only the strongest will survive.

Q&As

What has been the response to the introduction of Ernie, the new chatbot from Baidu?
The introduction of Ernie, the new chatbot from Baidu, has been met with great fanfare and has received 33.42 million user enquiries within the first 24 hours of operation.

What is the purpose of Tencent's chatbot?
The purpose of Tencent's chatbot is currently only open to "invited users" - which seems to mostly mean companies.

How does Ernie respond to sensitive questions?
Ernie responds to sensitive questions by deflecting them and telling the user to "Let's talk about something else".

What has the UN accused the Chinese government of doing in the region of Xinjiang?
The UN has accused the Chinese government of "serious human rights violations" against Uyghur Muslims in the north-western region of Xinjiang.

How do China's regulations on generative AI models affect companies?
China's regulations on generative AI models impose strict requirements on services that have 'public opinion properties' or the capacity to influence societal views, which could pressure companies to develop applications that are more targeted towards business applications rather than the general public.

AI Comments

👍 This article does an excellent job of explaining the new chatbot, Ernie, and the challenges it faces due to censorship in China. It also gives insight into how other tech giants are developing their own versions and the potential impacts of the technology.

👎 This article fails to address the ethical implications of censoring a chatbot by the Chinese government, and glosses over potential human rights violations.

AI Discussion

Me: It's about a new chatbot in China called Ernie, which was launched by search engine giant Baidu. What's interesting is that this chatbot has been censored by the Chinese government, so it can't answer questions about sensitive topics like the Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang, Tibetans, or Xi Jinping's health.

Friend: That's really interesting. It seems like the Chinese government is trying to control the information people can access, even through a chatbot.

Me: Yeah, it's definitely concerning. It's a form of censorship that could have a lot of implications for freedom of speech and access to information. It also raises questions about how tech giants like Baidu and Tencent will navigate this new censored landscape.

Action items

Research other chatbot services in China to compare their censorship policies.
Follow the development of Baidu's Ernie chatbot to see if it is able to answer more difficult questions.
Reach out to experts in the field of artificial intelligence to gain a better understanding of the implications of censorship on chatbot technology.

Technical terms

Chatbot: A computer program designed to simulate conversation with human users, especially over the Internet.
Censorship: The suppression or prohibition of any parts of books, films, news, etc. that are considered obscene, politically unacceptable, or a threat to security.
ChatGPT: A chatbot developed by OpenAI, a research laboratory based in San Francisco.
AI: Artificial Intelligence, the ability of a computer or other machine to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence.
Generative AI: A type of artificial intelligence that can generate new data from existing data.
Core Socialist Values: A set of values promoted by the Chinese Communist Party, including patriotism, collectivism, and social justice.
State Power: The ability of a government to exercise its authority over its citizens and territory.
National Unity: The sense of solidarity and shared identity among citizens of a nation.