Microsoft-backed OpenAI has attracted significant interest from companies in China for its popular ChatGPT app, despite being off-limits to users in the country. Despite the restrictions, virtual private networks and foreign phone numbers have allowed some to bypass the limitations. Meanwhile, the OpenAI models behind ChatGPT are becoming more accessible in China and are being integrated into various Chinese consumer technology applications, from social media to online shopping. The popularity of the tool is raising awareness in China about the advanced state of U.S. AI, highlighting the gap between tech companies in the country and their U.S. counterparts.
Although OpenAI and ChatGPT are not blocked by the Chinese government, OpenAI has restricted users in mainland China, Hong Kong, Iran, Russia and parts of Africa from creating accounts. OpenAI has stated that it is working to increase the number of locations where it can provide access to its tools in a safe and beneficial manner.
Despite Tencent’s WeChat shutting down several ChatGPT-related programs in December, hobbyists have continued to develop bots using the technology, which supports Chinese language interaction and has excellent translation capabilities. Chinese companies are using proxy tools or existing partnerships with Microsoft, which is investing billions in OpenAI, to embed AI technology into their products.
Chinese tech giants such as Baidu and Alibaba have also joined in the buzz and are working on their own AI models, with Baidu set to complete testing of its “Ernie Bot” in March and Alibaba’s Damo Academy testing a ChatGPT-style tool. However, Chinese regulators have introduced rules to strengthen the governance of deepfake technology, and have warned of stock market risks due to the frenzy over local ChatGPT-concept stocks.
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