Baidu, the Chinese search engine, announced on Tuesday that its artificial intelligence model, Ernie 3.5, has surpassed OpenAI’s ChatGPT and GPT 4 in crucial areas, marking significant progress in the race for AI dominance. Baidu unveiled its Ernie Bot in March and has since been conducting public tests in China. The chatbot is built on Baidu’s foundational AI model, Ernie, which is trained on vast amounts of data.
Ernie 3.5 outshines ChatGPT and GPT 4
Citing the China Science Daily journal, Baidu reported that Ernie 3.5 outperformed ChatGPT in several benchmark tests. ChatGPT is based on OpenAI’s GPT 3.5 model. Notably, Ernie 3.5 also surpassed GPT 4, OpenAI’s latest and more advanced model, in Chinese language tests, as highlighted in the science journal.
Baidu’s focus on advancing AI technology underscores the fierce competition unfolding in the field of generative AI between technology giants in the United States and China. Both nations are rapidly advancing their AI capabilities, aiming to gain a leading edge.
Ernie Bot’s performance in key tests
One of the tests cited by the Chinese science journal evaluated Ernie 3.5’s performance in standard admission and qualification exams, such as those required for college admissions or legal qualifications. In this test, Ernie 3.5 surpassed both ChatGPT and GPT 4 in the Chinese language.
However, when evaluated in an English language test released by Microsoft, Ernie 3.5 lagged behind GPT 4, although it still outperformed ChatGPT.
In another test that focused on Chinese language, covering over 13,000 multiple-choice questions across more than 50 subjects, Ernie 3.5 outperformed both ChatGPT and GPT 4.
A third test, developed by a consortium of US universities, encompassed questions on various subjects like science and humanities. In this test, Ernie 3.5 trailed behind both ChatGPT and GPT 4.
Baidu’s aspirations and AI advancements
Baidu aims to establish itself as a frontrunner in AI technology and compete against rivals like Alibaba. Haifeng Wang, CTO of Baidu, expressed his satisfaction with the progress of Ernie 3.5, stating that it has achieved substantial enhancements in efficacy, functionality, and performance within just three months of the beta release of Ernie Bot. These improvements are evident in creative writing, question answering, reasoning, code generation, as well as training and inference performance.
Baidu’s latest model, Ernie 3.5, offers a distinctive feature—the ability to access “plugins.” These plugins act as apps that can be accessed via Ernie Bot. For example, Baidu has integrated its search feature with Ernie Bot through a plugin, providing users with a seamless experience.
Baidu’s Ernie 3.5 has demonstrated its superiority over OpenAI’s ChatGPT and GPT 4 in key areas, as evidenced by various benchmark tests. This reflects the intense competition between US and Chinese tech giants in the field of generative AI. As Baidu continues to advance its AI technology, it propels innovation in the industry and pushes the boundaries of AI capabilities.
