Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce giant, has announced its entry into the global artificial intelligence (AI) race with its own version of a chatbot assistant. Named Tongyi Qianwen, the chatbot will be integrated into Alibaba’s vast ecosystem of tech businesses, including DingTalk and Tmall Genie. The new product will be able to communicate in both English and Mandarin, with capabilities including converting conversations into written notes, drafting emails, and writing business proposals. While Tongyi Qianwen’s primary function is practical, there is speculation about its ability to undertake more creative tasks similar to its American counterpart, ChatGPT. This new development follows the announcement of similar AI chatbots by Alphabet and Baidu. The Chinese Cyberspace Administration has also released guidelines for chatbot developers to ensure accuracy and reflect the core values of socialism, without containing subversion of state power.
