To develop the artificial-intelligence-powered chatbot, dubbed Ernie Bot, hundreds of people have been working around the clock, people familiar with the project said. Other teams have been asked to lend their staff and their powerful computer chips, which Chinese companies can no longer buy because of U.S. sanctions, they said.
The AI model that is the basis of the chatbot is still being trained with data ahead of the scheduled launch, a highly anticipated event in China’s tech industry, some of the people said. Some employees said they haven’t had sufficient time to build a well-functioning product.
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Baidu plans to roll out the product in stages, first opening it up for public testing to a restricted pool of users, people briefed about the plan said. Last month, Baidu said that it will embed Ernie Bot into its search engine first and will open it to the public in March.
Baidu CEO Robin.Li has said to employees, ‘We have such cool technology, but can we turn it into a product that everyone needs?’PHOTO: SUN YILEI/REUTERS
The rush reflects how Baidu is taking a calculated gamble to get ahead of Chinese rivals that have recently announced similar plans. The company said it has signed agreements with more than 400 Chinese companies, which will be able to use Ernie Bot in their products and services. In return, the chatbot will gain experience running under different scenarios to help improve its performance, Baidu has said.
