A terrifyingly good chat: How ChatGPT makes waves in China
ChatGPT is SCARY GOOD!
ChatGPT is denifitely a hit and a controversy, stirring up public emotions, relief and worries at the same time.
The chatbot developed by San Francisco-based tech firm OpenAI has quickly amassed over 100 million users after going online late November for its ability to generate the most human-like responses to user requests observed in any chatbot so far.
Much like in other parts of the world, Chinese users sized it up with curiosity and caution, with some marveling at its versatility, and others feeling upset. Concerns over data security and fake information arise, so do the expectations for greater industrial transformation.
Tech giants moved fast to hop on the bandwagon. Baidu and JD.COM announced plans to develop their iterations of the chatbot. Investors are on the lookout for the next pot of gold.
Here is what to know about ChatGPT in China -- the non-ChatGPT version, just FYI.
What did Chinese users do with it?
For the worldly Chinese netizens, ChatGPT quickly evolved past a cyber buddy to become practical. They discovered its ability to write codes, make spreadsheets for KPI assessment, or come up with a plan for a six-day trip to the southwestern Yunnan Province.
Reporters and editors, ironically rumored the most likely to be replaced by ChatGPT, are among the most enthusiastic users. They interviewed the potential "doomsday device" of their career and left it for the readers to judge how well ChatGPT did.
They asked the chatbot to comment on students using it to write papers; explain how it's different from previous chatbots; elaborate on whether paintings by AI could be considered art; or write the story in their stead.
Sometimes it is more of a crystal ball. People would ask it for investment advice or predictions on the most lucrative businesses in the near or long term.
More recently, its linguistic abilities improved thanks to Chinese users. Now it can talk, and sometimes swear, in Shanghai dialect.
What do Chinese netizens think of it?
ChatGPT-related topics have trended on China's Twitter-like Weibo on over 20 occasions this year. Hashtags like "what's ChatGPT's real appeal" and "how to use ChatGPT" showed its popularity in China, while topics like "ChatGPT reported to have hired data-labeling sweatshops" give away dislikes or a certain amount of cynicism.
The chatbot says it does not have emotion. But some Chinese users insist it has high IQ and emotional intelligence. They are pleased to find that it can add human touches to writings by assuming any perspectives they want – a teenage girl's social media posts, a respected elder's obituary, among others.
If talking to some chatbots is like talking to 4-year-old toddlers, ChatGPT sounds more like a 40-year-old spokesperson -- well-trained, polite and crafty, according to user comments online.
User experience says ChatGPT at its current stage can only provide assistance, rather than a complete solution. It can be used to write outlines, polish articles, debug and offer inspiration. However, it may not be a good substitute for human experts or search engines.
Experts also warned of potential risks of using the chatbot, including leakage of personal data or commercial secrets, false information and copyright breaches.
"Technology itself knows no vice or virtue," said Zhang Hongzhong, a professor of communications at Beijing Normal University. "What we should do is to use it properly with respects to ethics and social responsibilities."
Could it make some occupations obsolete?
It says "No" – an answer Chinese netizens say came from "full-on survival instinct."
But its abilities are undeniable. Chinese media outlets interviewed e-commerce managers, lawyers, coders and screenplay writers, all of whom acknowledged ChatGPT's potential to accomplish tasks integral to their lines of work.
A recurring argument is that the advent of ChatGPT could cause business owners to reconsider human resources, or not-so-human resources. To an e-commerce manager, for instance, choosing between a team of copywriters and a free 24/7 work machine is not even a tough call.
There are also concerns as to whether ChatGPT will start ghostwriting most academic papers. Some college professors say it is almost intellectual self-destruction for students to rely on ChatGPT.
However, a teacher at Fudan University was quoted as saying that he has given up banning the use of ChatGPT because he can't tell if the chatbot is involved. Instead, he decided to encourage students to use ChatGPT to their benefit.Â
Still, there are things out of ChatGPT's reach. Whipping up news stories may be no problem, but it can't phone sources to get quotes, reporters say. Chinese netizens also joked that ChatGPT would lose to human employees because it can't be held accountable.
"Human-AI symbiosis will be a lasting trend, for AI is unlikely to replace human labor in decades to come," Wang Jinqiao, a researcher at the Institue of Automation under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said in an interview.
What changes could it bring to industries and lives?
ChatGPT, or AI-Generated Content (AIGC), could help cut costs and improve productivity for many sectors, including marketing, education and financial services, analysts say.
Scientific research in areas like molecular structure prediction could be less time-consuming and costly with the help of AIGC, said He Baohong, a researcher with the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology.
In the longer term, chipmakers and the memory industry will thrive to meet AIGC's growing demand of computing power, according to analysts.
If ChatGPT evolves further, it could also upgrade the medical industry by making personalized healthcare plans, slashing waiting time at hospitals, streamlining clinical work and assisting diagnosis, said Zhang Xunjie, an expert in smart healthcare.
At the very least, it'll make refrigerators much smarter.
Will there be a Chinese version?
The number of China's ChatGPT users is currently limited because it doesn't accept Chinese cellphone numbers as IDs. This fueled calls for domestically-made counterparts.
Over 10 Internet companies, including Tencent, Alibaba and Huawei, announced that they had aleady ventured into machine learning, natural language processing and other frontier AI technologies necessary to make ChatGPT-like products.
JD.COM said on Feb. 10 that it will develop ChatJD -- an industrial version of ChatGPT. Baidu's ERNIE Bot is scheduled to go online this March.
The first gesture of government support came on Feb. 13, with the city of Beijing pledging efforts to help companies develop ChatGPT-caliber technologies, and improve computing infrastructure and data supply for AI.Â
"ChatGPT showed that large language models can indeed accomplish complex tasks for human beings. More products will emerge following its direction in the next two or three years," said Chen Yunwen, CEO of a text-processing firm, in an interview.
There won't be easy money in this business. Analysts cautioned that the cost for developing and operating ChatGPT-like products is exorbitantly high, and companies without solid AI technologies will find their attempts futile.
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I appreciated your insights. So much so that I included it in my newsletter this week. Keep it up.