ChatGPT, Google Bard, Microsoft Bing, Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, Adobe Firefly—with the emergence of so many different AIs, their use in both work and hobbies has become a familiar part of daily life for many.

Just recently, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government issued its "Guidelines for the Utilization of Generative AI in Text Composition" for its employees, and the Tokyo Chamber of Commerce and Industry published "A Starter's Guide to Generative AI for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises." It seems clear that the use of AI in business will only continue to grow.

• Guidelines for the Utilization of Generative AI in Text Composition (Japanese)

• A Starter's Guide to Generative AI for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (Japanese)

Many readers of this column are likely involved in companies doing business in China. Our own YAMAGATA Group has been operating in China for over 20 years, where we've made it a priority to quickly catch onto the latest local information and leverage it in our business.

In this column, I'd like to introduce the latest developments in China's generative AI scene with a look at Baidu's "ERNIE Bot," a generative AI that was recently released to the public.

Baidu's Generative AI: "ERNIE Bot" (文心一言)

Baidu (百度) is an internet company that operates China's largest search engine and web portal, often compared to being the "Google of China." It was this company that recently released its generative AI, "Wénxīn Yīyán" (文心一言), to the general public in China.

I Tried It Out

"Seeing is believing," as they say. So, I started by registering as a user and trying out some common functions. Please note that the Chinese used for the AI prompts was written by myself—an author with past work experience in China—with the help of Google Translate, so some errors may be present.

https://yiyan.baidu.com/welcome

After logging in, the main interface appears. The UI is similar to ChatGPT and Bard, so any GPT user can navigate it without confusion. It seems capable of not only generating text but also creating illustrations. The initial screen features several prompt buttons, allowing you to choose a pre-set prompt for what you want to do. The left pane displays your chat history.

First, I asked a few simple questions.
Q: Who are you? It introduced itself, stating, "I am an artificial intelligence language model developed by Baidu." Apparently, its English name is ERNIE Bot. I'll refer to it as ERNIE from here on.

Q: What is today's date? It provided not only today's date but also the lunar calendar date and auspicious events for the day.

Q: I asked in English, "Who is the Prime Minister of Japan as of September 2023?" To the English question, it responded, "I don't know." When I asked again in Chinese, it replied, "Shinzo Abe."

I then asked about its data training period and the number of parameters, but it replied, "That's a trade secret," and wouldn't tell me. ChatGPT, on the other hand, provides this information...

Q: I asked in Japanese, "Who was the winner and MVP of the 2022 World Cup?" It replied that it couldn't understand Japanese, so I asked again in Chinese. It correctly answered Argentina and Messi. It seems the Baidu search plugin is enabled by default. Still, it's a mystery why it named Shinzo Abe as the current prime minister of Japan. It appears that it cannot yet handle languages other than Chinese.

Can It Be Used for Business?

I also tried creating an email and a blog post, common uses for ChatGPT. All prompts were entered in Chinese.

Email Creation

Q: Create an appointment request email.
Please create an email with the following content, language, and conditions.
#Content
Thank you for your inquiry. We would like to schedule an online business meeting with you. Could you please let us know a convenient time (approx. 1 hour) from the candidate dates below?
October 10, 10:00 - 17:00, or [Date], 10:00 - 12:00 (all times JST).
#Language
Japanese
#Conditions
Please write in a polite style appropriate for business correspondence.

Result: It created the email in Chinese. When I requested it again in Japanese, it was unfortunately unable to comply.

Blog Creation

AI has become an indispensable tool for writing blog posts. I used ERNIE to write a blog post in Chinese.

Q: You are a writer who is knowledgeable about Japanese cuisine. Please write a 1000-character blog post about the characteristics of Japanese food. The target audience is first-time visitors to Japan.
It wrote a blog post of about 1000 characters on Japanese cuisine. As you can see from the Google-translated version below, the content seems more than sufficient for a blog aimed at first-time visitors to Japan.

Japanese Cuisine: A Journey Through a Unique Food Culture and Delicate Flavors

Welcome to Japan, a country brimming with a unique food culture. For first-time travelers to Japan, Japanese food is undoubtedly a key part of the experience. This blog will introduce you to the charm of Japanese cuisine, including its origins, characteristics, and popular dishes.

Japanese cuisine, an art form that pursues natural beauty and spiritual harmony, is already admired worldwide. Originating from strict culinary traditions, it incorporates the changing seasons and regional characteristics, delivered to us with exquisite presentation and a distinctive taste.

First, let's introduce the ingredients commonly used in Japanese cooking. Japanese cuisine emphasizes fresh, seasonal ingredients, pursuing the original texture and flavor of the materials. Seafood, especially fish, is the star of Japanese cuisine. Various types of fish are finely cut and prepared to bring out their rich texture and flavor. Additionally, vegetables, soy products, and rice are also important elements. These ingredients are rich in nutrients and highlight the Japanese emphasis on a healthy diet.

Next, let's talk about the seasoning techniques in Japanese food. A variety of seasonings are used, including soy sauce, miso, vinegar, and sweet sake. These seasonings bring a rich flavor and depth to the dishes. Soy sauce, in particular, is the most common seasoning in Japanese cuisine, adding not only flavor but also color and texture to the food.

Of course, we cannot ignore the cooking methods of Japanese food. The main methods are "simmering," "steaming," "grilling," "frying," and "eating raw," each with its own characteristics. For example, eating raw maximizes the fresh taste and nutritional value of the ingredients, while simmering and steaming bring out their original flavors to the fullest.

When enjoying Japanese food, it is also necessary to pay attention to table manners. Japanese culture values politeness and respect, and table manners are no exception. When savoring a Japanese meal, first take a sip of hot tea to cleanse your palate, then taste the various dishes in order. If you encounter a dish and are unsure how to eat it, feel free to ask your waiter or host for advice. Remember that elegant and polite tasting is a sign of respect not only for the chef but also for other diners.

It is also necessary to be careful not to waste food. In Japanese culture, wasting food is seen as a disregard for nature and the fruits of labor. Therefore, during meals, you should strive to finish all the food served on your plate.

Finally, let's talk about classic Japanese dishes. First to be mentioned is sushi, a raw food based on fish, served with vinegared rice and soy sauce. Another classic Japanese dish is ramen, a noodle-based dish with meat, vegetables, and soup, whose taste varies by region and the chef's skill. Furthermore, various delicacies such as grilled eel (unagi no kabayaki), tempura, and fried shrimp await you.

Overall, Japanese cuisine is a unique experience that fuses art, culture, and gastronomy. Whether you are a gourmet enthusiast or a traveler interested in Japanese culture, don't miss this opportunity to explore Japanese cuisine. Feel the wisdom and love for food in Japanese cuisine as you savor its exquisite taste. We hope this blog helps you to better understand and appreciate Japan's unique food culture.

How About Math?

It's well-known that generative AI is not suited for mathematical calculations, but how does ERNIE fare?

Q: Add 1850, 420, 330, 2070, 1350, 960, and 22050.
Even though it displayed the calculation formula, the answer was incorrect. The correct answer is 29,030. When I tried this with GPT-4 and Bard, Bard got it right, while GPT-4 was incorrect. It seems generative AI really does struggle with math.

Trying Out Non-Text Functions

ChatGPT has various plugins and recently gained data analysis capabilities with Code Interpreter. I couldn't find any plugins for ERNIE, but I decided to see what else it could do besides generate text.

Graph Creation

Q: A bar graph of China's population distribution by generation since 2010.
In response to this question, it displayed figures and a bar graph for 2010 and 2020. This was a refreshing result, as GPT cannot display visual data without plugins or external services. For reference, in China, "post-00s" (00后) refers to people born after 2000, and "post-90s" (90后) refers to those born after 1990.

Illustration Generation

Q: An illustration of a panda and Sun Wukong (the Monkey King) sightseeing in Tokyo.
In response to this prompt, it displayed a panda wearing armor. When I pointed out that there was no image of Tokyo sightseeing, it showed an image of a city with a Tokyo Tower-like structure. The image also had a faint "Baidu" watermark, so it cannot be used for commercial purposes.

Next, I used the pre-set illustration prompt buttons to create an image of a woman in four different styles: 2D, 3D, Makoto Shinkai style, and Hayao Miyazaki style. The Shinkai and Miyazaki style illustrations were not very satisfying. Perhaps my instructions were insufficient. Below the illustration, a comment was added: "Illustration skills are still evolving."

More Convenient Features

There were a few other features that caught my eye while using ERNIE. I thought there were only six fixed prompt buttons, but when I clicked "New Chat," a refresh button appeared. Each time I clicked this refresh button, different prompts were displayed. I found this more convenient than GPT's method of changing the prompt menu with every new chat. I didn't test it this time, but there was also a file upload menu, which I'd like to try later.

• Reference Document (览卷文档):
  Allows uploading documents up to 10MB to be used for summaries, questions, creative writing, and more.

• Diagram (E言易图):
  Can create various graphs and mind maps based on Apache Echarts.

• Image Captioning (说图解画):
  Allows uploading images up to 10MB to be used as a basis for creative writing, questions, and more.

In Conclusion

All questions and data entered into ERNIE are used for its training, and there is no setting to prevent this. Furthermore, China has already enacted a law concerning AI in August 2023, the "Provisional Measures for the Management of Generative Artificial Intelligence Services." Therefore, when using generative AI in China, it is necessary to understand the risks and proceed with caution.

• Provisional Measures for the Management of Generative Artificial Intelligence Services (Chinese)

While this article focused on Baidu's generative AI, on August 31, 2023, eight Chinese AI-related companies and research institutions released new AI model services to the public. These were officially approved for public use after undergoing a formal review process.

Specifically, these are five companies from Beijing and three from Shanghai. I'd like to briefly explain their characteristics.

• Baidu: ERNIE Bot
  A model capable of supporting conversation, Q&A, and even content creation.

• ByteDance: YunQue Large Model
  An AI bot named "Doubao" (豆包) based on ByteDance's new model has been introduced, allowing users to experience a wide range of AI services.

• Zhipu AI: GLM Large Model
  An AI assistant named "Zhipu Qingyan" (智谱清言) was released, capable of supporting daily Q&A and tasks.

• Baichuan Intelligence: Baichuan Large Model

  The emerging company Baichuan Intelligence has released three language models despite its short development period.

• SenseTime: SenseNova Large Model
  SenseTime's "SenseNova" is an AI model with diverse functions, including natural language processing and image generation.

• MiniMax: ABAB Large Model
  MiniMax has introduced "ABAB," a model with powerful language processing capabilities that can handle various text processing tasks.

• Chinese Academy of Sciences: Zidong Taichu Large Model
  The Chinese Academy of Sciences announced "Zidong Taichu," a multi-modal AI model expected to be used in fields like healthcare, logistics, and public services.

• Shanghai Artificial Intelligence Laboratory: InternLM
  This Shanghai research institution has released a large-scale AI model named "Shusheng" (INTERN), developed for use in a wide range of AI research and applications.

I hope to continue to catch up on and report on the generative AI situation in China.

Our YAMAGATA Group supports our clients' global business through our worldwide network. Please feel free to contact us with any inquiries.