Alibaba showcases generative AI technology, to be rolled out in all applications

SHANGHAI, April 11 (Reuters) – Alibaba Group Holdings Limited (9988.HK) on Tuesday showed off its generative model of artificial intelligence — its version of the technology that enhances the sense of ChatGPT — and said it will be integrated into all of the company’s applications in the near future. .

A big language AI model called Tongyi Qianwen drafted invitation letters, planned itineraries, and advised shoppers on the types of makeup they could buy in a photoshoot.

Tongyi Qianwen will initially be integrated into DingTalk, Alibaba’s workplace messaging application, and can be used to summarize meeting notes, write emails, and draft business proposals. It will also be added to Tmall Genie, Alibaba’s voice assistant.

CEO Daniel Chang said in a live event that the technology will “make huge changes in the way we produce, the way we work, and the way we live our lives.”

He added that AI models such as Tongyi Qianwen are “the big picture of making AI more popular in the future.”

The Chinese internet giant’s cloud unit plans to open Tongyi Qianwen to customers so they can build their own custom large language models and begin enrollment in Tongyi Qianwen on Friday.

Global interest in generative AI, which learns to take action from past data to create new content, has grown since the release of ChatGPT by Microsoft-backed OpenAI (MSFT.O) late last year.

A number of Chinese companies have exposed or teased prototypes of artificial intelligence and chatbots.

Search giant Baidu Inc (9998.HK) announced the Ernie Bot chatbot earlier this year. The bot remains open only to trial users for now.

Chinese artificial intelligence company SenseTime (0200.HK) on Monday unveiled a slew of new AI products including a chatbot called SenseChat.

Zhang said Alibaba and other companies working on AI models were at the “starting line” of a new phenomenon.

“Seizing this opportunity is a common desire of all of us,” he said.

Alibaba shares rose 1.5 percent in Hong Kong trading, while the market prices were generally stable. Shares in SenseTime initially rose but later fell 2.7%.

(Reporting by Josh Horowitz). Editing by Brenda Goh and Edwina Gibbs

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