Could Ernie, Baidu Chatbot project, challenge the ChatGPT on a global scale ?

What Does the Future Hold for Baidu's Chatbot Project???

Chinese tech giant Baidu has decided to forego a public event and replace it with an exclusive session for firms interested in testing its AI-powered bot, Ernie. This comes after the company unveiled the chatbot earlier this month to mixed reviews. The original plan had been to host a live-streamed event that was open to both media and members of the public.?Baidu stated that this move was due to the "strong demand" from 120,000 companies vying for their chance to trial Ernie.

The tech world has seen OpenAI’s ChatGPT take over since its launch last November and Baidu is one of many businesses eager to get involved in replicating this success. Its shares dropped upon the demonstration by Chief Executive Robin Li, which highlighted a lack of features in comparison to Chat GPT’s follow-up GPT-4, such as the ability to generate text based on an image. Nonetheless, stock prices have since risen again as users shared their experiences of Ernie online.?

Analysts suggest that Chinese efforts to emulate OpenAI's chatbot have been faced with numerous challenges.??

• WeChat and other services not found on the open internet have become the primary source of online traffic in China, replacing search engines such as Google. This means that web-crawling tools like Common Crawl, which works by “crawling” websites to create datasets for public use, are not as readily available.?
• In addition, research conducted by market firm BAiGUAN suggests that training data available in Chinese is far less comprehensive than its English equivalent across several domains such as social media content, literature corpora, academic corpora, and news outlets. A professor from Peking University noted that only 1.4% of global ranking sites are written in Chinese compared to 60.4% in English.??
• Moreover, the lack of public testing creates a significant avenue for improvement: ChatGPT had over 100 million users within two months of its launch, allowing for crucial data to be collected. This has led to a tradeoff between the models’ accuracy and regulators' desire for content control.??

In spite of these issues, Baidu continues to demonstrate resilience as it pushes ahead with Ernie - and whatever success or failure ensues will no doubt inform future developments in AI-focused technology. It remains to be seen how the tech giant will find a balance between its own desire for control over the content and the usefulness of their chatbot.

The Upside of Taking Responsibility: Why Organizations Need to Embrace Responsible AI?

According to MIT Sloan Management Review and Boston Consulting Group, 42% of their respondents consider AI as a top strategic priority. But despite this, only 19% report that they have implemented responsible AI programs, leaving their organization vulnerable to potential risks due to the gap between implementation and oversight.?

Responsible AI goes beyond just an item on the checklist or a buzzword: it requires organizations to take significant structural transformation and build a responsible AI culture. Governments are also increasing regulations around AI usage, so organizations must take proactive steps to understand the impact of their decisions and ensure that their AI applications are trustworthy.?

AI auditing is an increasingly important component in ensuring responsible AI. It involves assessing, mitigating, and assuring a system’s safety, legality, and ethics throughout its design, implementation, and maintenance. The five main components of a successful AI audit include:?

1. Efficacy (whether it does the job intended),?
2. Robustness/reliability (ensuring secure data),?
3. Bias (avoiding unfair treatment of individuals or groups),??
4. Explainability (providing understandable decisions or suggestions)??
5. Privacy (minimizing personal data leakage).?

It is clear that responsible AI requires more than just having a good idea – organizations need to invest in resources and capabilities to build, maintain and audit AI applications. By implementing a comprehensive responsible AI program, organizations will be able to maximize the potential of their AI initiatives while also remaining competitive in an increasingly regulated landscape. Furthermore, by taking responsibility now, they can help create trust in their overall brand – ultimately leading to better relationships with customers, employees, and shareholders alike.??

Diving deeper into the topic of responsible AI adoption...?

Where Do We Draw the Line? Examining The Risks of Artificial Intelligence??

What are the Implications of AI? Should We Be Allowing Machines to Reach Human-Competitive Intelligence? Can We Trust Machines with The Truth???

Questions such as these – and how to answer them – have been at the forefront of a new letter sent by an international group of leaders in academia, industry, and policy.??

The letter penned by EO, Getty Images and Yuval Noah Harari, Author and Professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has shone a light on the potential dangers associated with artificial intelligence (AI). They point out that AI systems have now reached human-competitive intelligence which could lead to profound changes in our world. To put it another way, these new digital minds are so advanced that their creators may not even be able to comprehend or predict them.??

Within the letter, questions are posed such as should we let machines inundate us with untruths? Should we automate away jobs? Should we replace humans altogether? Furthermore, they suggest that decisions about AI should not be delegated to tech leaders without democratic oversight. As a result, they have proposed a six-month moratorium to study the implications of more powerful AI systems such as ChatGPT and GPT-4. In addition, they encourage companies to develop shared safety protocols for AI development with oversight from independent outside experts. They also call for public funding for technical AI safety research, watermarking systems to distinguish real from synthetic and liability for AI-caused harm.??

However, some have questioned Elon Musk's involvement in the letter due to Tesla's resistance towards accountability when it comes to their self-driving cars. While OpenAI has previously expressed cautionary language around the use of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), they did not respond quickly to this particular letter. It is clear that even though AI can bring about drastic improvements in the rate of progress, there needs to be more regulation and oversight to ensure that these new powers are used responsibly.?

How Companies Like Boeing and Verizon Have Used Value Stream Management (VSM) to Achieve Greater Efficiencies??

Learn from Industry Experts on How to Implement VSM Initiatives in Your Organization??

Today, many companies look at value stream management (VSM) as an effective way to increase efficiency, reduce costs, and improve customer value. This approach focuses on the end-to-end flow of activities that add value to products or services. Organizations like Boeing and Verizon have successfully implemented VSM initiatives, creating a cross-functional environment and improving visibility throughout their organizations. This has enabled them to save hundreds of millions of dollars while propelling them toward digital transformation.?

Here's what VSM is all about:?

VSM involves mapping out the flow of value from concept to product or service delivery, while also uncovering any potential bottlenecks that could impede progress. Additionally, VSM entails a shift in culture as it encourages individuals to take on broader roles and think beyond silos. Through greater transparency and communication, employees gain an understanding of their own contribution within the organization's larger scope, which leads to increased motivation and productivity. This approach has enabled companies such as Verizon to become more agile when responding to market shifts or competitive pressures, allowing for less resistance to change due to improved comprehension of any changes made. In order for VSM implementation to be successful, senior executive support as well as efficient collaboration throughout the organization is necessary. Ultimately, VSM offers an opportunity for a cultural transformation through enhanced visibility and communication of value streams.??

For those interested in learning more about how some of the world's top enterprises have benefited from VSM initiatives, Harvard Business Review Analytic Services has an informative briefing paper: "Using Value Stream Management to Speed Digital Transformation and Eliminate the Silos." Sponsored by Broadcom, this report features insights from industry analysts and experienced VSM practitioners, and offers key lessons learned from successful initiatives.

To further explore the advantages of VSM, you can download the free report here?

Sources:?

• https://www.asiafinancial.com/baidu-scraps-public-launch-of-chatgpt-rival-ernie-bot?
• https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-65110030?
• https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/03/why-businesses-should-commit-to-responsible-ai/?
• https://thechinaproject.com/2023/04/05/how-good-is-ernie-chinas-answer-to-chatgpt/?
• https://www.cio.com/article/413205/how-value-stream-management-is-fueling-digital-transformation-real-world-examples.html?