Iflytek Unveils SparkDesk: A Rival to ChatGPT
Iflytek, the Chinese voice-recognition company, has entered the race to build a rival to OpenAI Inc.'s ChatGPT. Its latest AI model, called SparkDesk, was recently introduced at an event in the city of Hefei. The model is aimed at the educational and enterprise sectors and offers voice-recognition prompts to assess student essays and compose hypothetical stories in Chinese and English languages. The company aims to exceed OpenAI's capabilities in Chinese and reach ChatGPT's standards in English.
In the event, Liu Qingfeng, the Chairman of Iflytek, stated that the impact of generative AI technology is no less important than that of the birth of the PC or the internet. He added that to reach their aim, they must learn from ChatGPT and even seek to surpass it. However, there is growing skepticism about the risks of a bubble in the industry, and the Beijing government is signaling more oversight of the industry.
The country's top internet overseer has published draft guidelines that would mandate a security review of generative AI services. During China's Politburo meeting last month, officials stressed the need to pay attention to the development of generative AI, but also to mitigate risks.
Concerns for Chinese Companies
Chinese companies face hurdles in training chatbot services to ban sensitive or controversial information that the Communist Party blocks across the internet. They also have limitations on datasets that can be used to train AI models. Iflytek, for instance, was barred from buying critical US components after being added to the US Commerce Department's blacklist in 2019 for its alleged role in the surveillance of minorities in Xinjiang.
There have also been concerns about the long-term ability of Chinese companies to access high-end chips needed for large-scale language models. However, companies like Baidu and Alibaba Group Holding have said they will integrate AI into their suite of products, similar to Microsoft's integration of ChatGPT in its Edge browser and Google's Bard in its search results.
In conclusion, despite the challenges, Iflytek has unveiled its SparkDesk with high hopes of becoming a worthy competitor to OpenAI's ChatGPT. The industry is evolving rapidly, and only time will tell if Iflytek and other Chinese companies will be able to keep up with the demands of the market.
