ChatGPT’s growing Chinese user base puts AI chatbot to the test

Chinese netizens have been widely sharing tips on how to use ChatGPT, the viral artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot launched by start-up OpenAI just two months ago that is not officially available in the country, sending people racing to generate their own content ranging from stock analyses to smartphone reviews.

Amid growing hype around OpenAI’s technology, investors have ploughed money into any company remotely linked to ChatGPT-like services. Shenzhen-listed Hanwang Technology, which develops “neuro-linguistic programming”, saw its stock price double in the last eight trading days. Shares of Hong Kong-listed Zhihu, a Quora-like question-and-answer platform, jumped 40 per cent on Wednesday based on speculation that its data might enable a service like ChatGPT.

Third-party apps on various Chinese platforms have made ChatGPT accessible to a population that otherwise might not be able to use it, as OpenAI blocks Chinese phone numbers and IP addresses from being used to create accounts. As a result, professionals and the general public alike have flooded the service with their own prompts to test the AI’s wisdom.

Analysts with Caitong Securities published a report on the cosmetic surgery industry that was written by ChatGPT in an hour. The 6,500-word analysis touched on the definition, history, market value and regulations of the industry.

ChatGPT “is relatively good at text expression and writing titles” but “has made obvious mistakes in punctuation and terminology”, Caitong analyst Liu Yang said.

Influencer “Tech Xinyi”, a gadget reviewer with more than 6 million followers on Weibo, said he was “shocked” by ChatGPT and feared that “tech influencers might be replaced”.

He made the comment after asking the bot whether Huawei or Xiaomi smartphones were better. The machine listed the advantages of each brand, such as the cameras and battery life of Huawei phones, and the price of Xiaomi devices. However, it emphasised that it depends on user preferences.

Domestic media Hongxing Xinwen on Tuesday used ChatGPT to interview itself. The bot was prompted to “please list five questions to interview an AI company”, and it was followed up with a Q&A.

The simulated conversation covered a company introduction, a discussion of its core technology and achievements, but it was “rather conventional and not deep enough”, lacking “reflections on the technology itself”, the news outlet reported.

It also asked ChatGPT if AI will replace journalists, with the response that it is “not likely”. AI “doesn’t have the understanding and grasp of human stories”, while journalists need to “use human judgment, creativity and emotional understanding in order to capture the point and meaning of a news story”.

There have been an increasing number of debates about how job security might be disrupted by powerful AI tech, a topic that heated up after ChatGPT passed Google’s level-3 engineer test and a master of business administration exam given by a professor from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. It also helped compose a speech for Israeli President Isaac Herzog last week.

“In its current capacity, I believe that ChatGPT will not replace human jobs,” said Matthew Pike, an assistant professor of computer science at the University of Nottingham Ningbo China.

“While the technology is advanced, it still requires human domain experts to verify and validate the information presented,” he said. “This means that human judgment and decision-making will still play a crucial role in various industries.”

When asked by China News Service if AI will replace human jobs, ChatGPT answered that although it can do certain jobs like data recorder and telemarketer, “humans are still creating new occupations and needs, and technology will also create new jobs. Therefore, humans and AI will be able to coexist and collaborate, not replace each other.”

Chinese companies have been seeking to jump on the ChatGPT bandwagon. Internet search giant Baidu said its AI chatbot, called “Ernie Bot” in English, “aims to complete internal testing in March”, while Alibaba Group Holding’s enterprise collaboration tool DingTalk published a user guide for adding ChatGPT to group chats via a valid token generated by the service. Chinese state media have warned against overhyping the tech.

In an article published on Wednesday, the state-run Securities Daily wrote that investors should not blindly follow the trend as related stock prices soar. The Economic Daily wrote on Saturday that there is still a long way to go for AI-generated content to be commercially adopted on a large scale, and the market should not let speculation interfere with technology.

ARTICLE FROM: SCMP/Expat Link