With AI becoming the new trend in the tech industry, many corporations are competing for a piece of the pie, the most recent being Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. The Chinese multinational technology giant has developed its own generative Artificial Intelligence model with plans to include it in all of the company’s products in the near future.
This is coming a few weeks after Alibaba Holding Ltd announced it would be splitting the $220bn empire into six separate business units and the sudden public return of Jack Ma, who vanished after a run-in with authorities two years ago.
Tongyi Qianwen, which means “truth from a thousand questions,” is the name of the AI language model. It stands as a strong competition against ChatGPT because the AI can generate invitation letters, plan trips, and even provide shopping suggestions.
Reuters reports that the AI model will first be integrated into DingTalk, Alibaba’s workplace messaging app, and can summarize meeting notes, send emails, and draft business proposals and Tmall Genie, Alibaba’s voice assistant.
According to a live-streamed event, Reuters quoted, Daniel Zhang, the CEO of Alibaba said,
The technology “will bring about big changes to the way we produce, the way we work and the way we live our lives. AI models like Tongyi Qianwen are “the big picture for making AI more popular in the future.
While this is still a new project for the Alibaba, its cloud unit is planning to open the AI model Tongyi Qianwen to clients so that they can construct their own bespoke language models. Registrations will begin on Friday.
Alibaba’s bold move despite calls for AI regulation
While the world knows that AI tools frequently resolve problems and greatly simplify our work, many people and government officials are pessimistic about the future and are looking for ways to regulate the generative AI technology sector.
In recent times there have been lots of criticisms on the potential social repercussions, possible abuses, cyberattacks, and endangerment in the social dynamics of the workplace which could result in the loss of intellectual property.
Although China encourages technological advancements, AI content generations especially on delicate issues are required to abide by the country’s data security and personal information protection rules, and in an effort to lessen the risks associated with cutting-edge technology, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) has reportedly prepared rules to regulate the generative AI sector.
Before releasing their products to the public, companies are being pushed to submit security assessments to the appropriate authorities. While this may potentially impede growth, it would also create barriers for foreign businesses wishing to offer AI services in the nation, which would be advantageous for indigenous businesses.
This is not the first country to moderate, put restrictions, and rules, or totally cancel the AI trends. Italy last month temporarily banned ChatGPT. North Korea has strict regulations over the use of the internet, which includes the AI chatbot. Other countries that fall under this category include Iran, Syria, and Cuba.
The city of Montpellier has embarked on precautionary measures to outlaw ChatGPT for municipal employees. Also, the United Kingdom’s independent data regulator plans to “support” advances in AI but is also open to “challenge non-compliance” with data protection regulations.
Elon Musk and Steve Wozniak and a long list of well-known technologists, businessmen, and researchers have also urged AI labs to halt work on active AI systems immediately to avert potential risks.
Read Also: What is the state of AI regulation in Africa as the rest of the world scrutinises ChatGPT
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