Summary
- Online tech giant, Alibaba joins AI race
- The company launched Tongyi Qianwen on April 10
- The AI will assist shoppers select items and plan itineraries
Chinese online selling tech giant, Alibaba, has revealed that they will launch their very own AI model which would be integrated into all the company’s apps.
Speaking on Tuesday at a conference, Alibaba chairman and chief executive Daniel Zhang said that the tech would be integrated into the company’s cloud computing unit and would be available across all Alibaba businesses in the near future. However, the company did not give details on the exact timeline.
The AI is called Tongyi Qianwen, which directly translates to ‘seeking an answer by asking a thousand questions’.
“We are at a technological watershed moment driven by generative AI and cloud computing,” said Chairman Daniel Zhang during Tongyi Qianwen launch, terming their AI as the big picture that would make AI more popular in the future.
The AI will have the ability to draft invitational letters, advice shoppers on the type of items to buy (the AI was tested on makeup in its demonstration) and plan trip itineraries. The AI will be able to work in English and Mandarin (Chinese). Before its launch to the public, Tongyi Qianwen will be integrated to DingTalk, Alibaba’s workplace messaging app. It will also be integrated to Tmall Genie, Alibaba’s voice assistant.
AI Rush
AI chatbots have taken off massively since the explosion of ChatGPT onto the scene. While AI has been there for a long time, ChatGPT made generative AI even more impressive with realistic human-like dialogue that captured the public’s imagination.
Since then, Alphabet, Google’s parent company, also launched its own AI called Bard, while Baidu, another Chinese technology company, also released its own AI – Ernie.
The race for AI development has been so great, and the strides so massive that many have begun fearing for humanity. Italy, for example, recently blocked ChatGPT due to concerns over data protection.
