ByteDance Ltd., the company behind the famous TikTok, is trying out a chatbot powered by artificial intelligence among its employees. This endeavor makes the company part of an AI race, also joined by Baidu and Alibaba, to develop a local ChatGPT version.
AI Project "Grace"
According to the Hindustan Times, the AI project of ByteDance has been named "Grace." Employees that try out the bot get a pop-up greeting message that explains how many language models back up the bot.
The mysterious and unique chatbot is ByteDance's first indication that it is pushing into the generative AI field, which took off during ChatGPT's launch last November, as reported by Bloomberg Law.
The company has also been developing phone apps based on algorithmic recommendations brought about by AI. This has been in the works since Liang Rubo and Zhang Yiming started the outfit more than ten years ago.
ChatGPT in China
In China, specifically, users accessing the famous ChatGPT have been clamped down and warned that the bot could be used for political propaganda, AI Business reports.
The bot is unavailable and has been geo-locked in China. Authorities have actively urged local social networking platforms to prevent ChatGPT access. Authorities want to ensure that such platforms do not grant access to ChatGPT or other AI-powered services.
However, determined Chinese users may still access ChatGPT through a VPN capable of bypassing the country's strong firewall.
Time notes that considering how China has banned Twitter, Facebook, and Google through its Great Firewall, it was only a matter of time before it eventually targeted the rising and sensational ChatGPT.
First ChatGPT Arrest
A man from China was recently detained after using the bot to make a fake train crash story. His arrest marks the first AI-related one that comes after tightening restrictions regarding deep-fake technology use, Reuters reports.
His fake story claimed nine construction workers died in the train crash. It garnered over 15,000 clicks after being published on April 25 on a social media platform. 25 Baijiahao accounts also reported it.
The man, named Hong, was then identified and arrested following the spread of this alleged fake news. This came after the police traced the accounts and discovered his company's involvement.
He was arrested under the country's law governing deep synthesis technologies introduced this year. Deep synthesis technologies cover AI used for text, video, image, and other media generation. The law indicates that such services cannot be disseminated for fake news.
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