Zhou added that the model can generate additional photos in the same style of the original, if requested.
Alibaba’s Tongyi Qianwen, which generates text answers like ChatGPT, was demonstrated to visitors at the company’s booth. The bot offers specific functions, such as writing a love letter, teaching you how to praise someone, and cooking recipes. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.
Many exhibitors showcased LLM-powered applications in a wide range of sectors spanning logistics, education, finance, and construction. A JD.com executive told the conference on Friday that the Beijing-based e-commerce giant has invested over 100 billion yuan (US$13.8 billion) on AI, and has filed for over 20,000 AI-relevant patents.
JD.com is using LLM technology to help summarise and generate product listing details, a process that would traditionally require a lot of labour, the executive said.
People visit the Ant Group booth at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, July 6, 2023. Photo: AFP
Wang Haifeng, technology chief at Baidu, one of the first Chinese Big Tech firms to launch a ChatGPT-style service, showed a “plug-in” function that could be expanded to include third-party apps developed on Baidu’s AI model, turning it into an AI app store. Baidu’s Ernie Bot is available in Apple’s app store in China, but it is still in trial model as Beijing has yet to allow the service to become available to consumers.
Xu Li, co-founder and CEO of facial recognition firm SenseTime, said on Friday that the company has completed a “comprehensive upgrade” of its large AI model called SenseNova, and that its chat bot SenseChat can now handle long text input such as academic papers, as well as understand Cantonese.
Xu added that the models have already been commercialised in various industries including finance, medical treatment, short video and live-streaming, and the company is pushing ahead on using the application in intelligent vehicles.
Hangzhou-based gaming giant NetEase and cybersecurity firm Qihoo 360 both showcased their LLM-based applications, vowing to improve the efficiency of traditional industries that are set to be transformed by generative AI.
Tang Daosheng, senior executive vice-president of Tencent Holdings, said the company’s industry-oriented LLM platform, launched last month, provides over 50 solutions for 10 industries and can help enterprise users “showcase their models while ensuring the protection of their data”.
Yu Xiaohui, head of the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, told the conference the agency will play its role in boosting Chinese AI development by promoting foundational and systematic innovation, and helping build the Chinese LLM industry’s core competitiveness.
China’s Vice-Minister for the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology Xu Xiaolan told WAIC delegates on Thursday that the country’s AI industry, whose market value is over 500 billion yuan, currently consists of more than 4,300 enterprises.
