Alibaba, the Chinese technology company, recently showcased its very own version of the ChatGPT, or Conversational Generative Pre-trained Transformer, an AI-powered chatbot platform. It demonstrated a new software which the firm plans on rolling out across its various platforms. The Tongyi Qianwen, a large language model for users to interact with, is set to be added to the Tmall Genie smart speakers and the DingTalk workplace messaging platform.
The Chinese tech giant trained the new system using troves of data, allowing it to come up with compelling responses to user prompts. It was developed primarily to help transcribe meeting notes, craft business pitches, and communicate fun stories to children. Group Chief Executive Officer of Alibaba, Daniel Zhang, presented this new service at a Beijing conference, and also explained how it can be used in all other Alibaba applications, such as e-commerce, mapping services, and more.
China’s biggest search engine, Baidu, made a similar move last month, releasing a chatbot service called ERNIE which can generate company newsletters, come up with corporate slogans, and accurately solve math riddles. Alibaba’s cloud computing division, available to all clients, will have access to Tongyi Qianwen to develop their own personalized language models.
Daniel Zhang is the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Alibaba Group, overseeing various projects of the company and its development. He is responsible for driving Alibaba’s vision and mission to lead the digital economy, and was appointed to the role back in 2019. Prior to this, Zhang was the Chief Executive Officer of Alibaba Group’s China Retail Marketplaces. He holds an MBA from Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business and accrued various awards including China Central TV’s Economic Person of the Year in 2019, EY Entrepreneur of the Year China 2018, and several others.
All in all, this AI-powered service by Alibaba is impressive, considering how seamlessly it can be used in all its applications. Its usage even encourages productive conversations, allowing users to converse with the company on a more interactive level. With the Tongyi Qianwen, the tech giant is no doubt taking its products and services to the next level.