Baidu, the Chinese search engine giant, is a tech giant that is carefully maneuvering its way into the world of Artificial Intelligence. The company has lately been gripping headlines by introducing AI tool Ernie Bot in anticipation of OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Microsoft’s AI makeover.
To demonstrate their advancements in the field, Baidu CEO Robin Li organized a conference to present journalists and investors alike with Ernie bot’s abilities. However, due to the demos being pre-recorded, the investors got underwhelmed by the lackluster presentation, leading to Baidu stocks taking a dip of 10% in wake of the conference.
In response, the company took the initiative to turn the debacle into an opportunity when they announced the planned live stream product launch of Ernie bot. The closed-door event was slated to allow the first few companies to take Ernie bot for a test run, pushing the event to be an even bigger success. However, abruptly in the early hours of Monday, the company made an announcement to cancel the livestream which caused the shares to fall by 4.5% in the Hong Kong market.
Nevertheless, Baidu is counting on the demand of the Chinese corporate sector to make use of generative artificial intelligence, along with the introduction of many applications to Ernie bot like summarizing financial statements, creating presentations in PowerPoint, and even generating images, audios, and poetry. On March 31st, testing for the Ernie bot will be made available to invitees – consequently giving the tech giant a chance, to finally show the world the potential of artificial intelligence, while winning back its invested trust.
Regarding the company, Baidu Inc., formerly known as Baidu.com is a Chinese multinational computing technology and web service company. It is the largest search engine in China and the world’s fifth-largest overall search engine. It specializes in providing Chinese-language Internet search services, including an online encyclopedia, music, and video sharing platforms, and has partnerships with a variety of international companies.
Regarding the person, Fangbo Tao is a former AI scientist at Alibaba and has experience in the development of AI systems. He is a published writer, having written books and AI-related articles for Chinese tech magazines for a number of years. He is also a frequent speaker on technology topics, conducting workshops and lectures on artificial intelligence and computer science topics. Fangbo’s expertise and research have made him an authority in the development of AI tools and applications. He has also been actively involved in analyzing the implications of AI technology on businesses and societies.
