Reuters reports that Baidu has filed a lawsuit against both Apple and several app developers for replicating its AI chatbot, Ernie Bot. Baidu claims that these developers have uploaded duplicate versions of Ernie Bot to the App Store. Ernie Bot was introduced by Baidu in March 2023 to compete with ChatGPT, which was gaining popularity at the time. This recent legal complication represents yet another obstacle for the field of artificial intelligence.
The Baidu Ernie AI chatbot isn’t available on the App Store yet.
In the weeks following Baidu’s announcement of Ernie Bot, a number of clones emerged on Apple’s App Store for iOS devices. It is worth noting that Baidu has not yet developed an official application for its ChatGPT rival. Ernie Bot, unlike its Western equivalent, is currently only accessible to a select group of testers who have been given exclusive invitation codes. Baidu has taken legal action against both Apple and the clone apps by filing a lawsuit with the Haidian People’s Court in Beijing.
Ernie Bot doesn’t compete with its Western contemporaries, such as ChatGPT.
Baidu CEO Robin Li has stated that “Ernie Bot is not intended to be used as a tool of conflict between China and the United States.” However, despite its aim to compete with ChatGPT, the announcement of Ernie Bot was not well received by audiences. In the hours following the announcement, the company’s shares experienced a drop of almost 5%, although they quickly recovered.
It appears that Baidu’s focus for its generative artificial intelligence lies more with the corporate sector rather than the general public. According to Reuters, the company released a statement indicating that 30,000 corporate users had applied for its closed API test. Furthermore, Baidu has announced that 650 companies have expressed interest in testing Ernie Bot.
How does Ernie Bot stack up?
With the explosive growth of artificial intelligence in recent months, Baidu has entered the AI arena with its own offering, Ernie Bot. But how does it compare to its competitors? According to Engadget, Baidu CEO Robin Li claims that the chatbot possesses capabilities similar to those of GPT-4, with a specific focus on the Chinese market. It can perform all the functions typically expected of a chatbot, such as answering questions and generating texts based on prompts.
However, there are limitations to what Ernie Bot can do. It will not respond to prompts related to sensitive subjects such as the Chinese Communist Party or President Xi Jinping. Additionally, prompts about President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are also off-limits. Reuters notes that these restrictions are in compliance with censorship requests made by the CCP. When prompted about these topics, the bot responds by stating that it considers “relevant laws and moral standards.”
