TOPIC

ChatGPT and other generative AIs

Latest news and updates on ChatGPT, a large language model conversational bot operated by Microsoft-backed OpenAI that is able to understand sophisticated questions and give surprisingly humanlike text responses, and other generative AI, including Baidu's Ernie Bot, and image generation software such as Midjourney, Stable Diffusion and Dall-e 2. The articles focus on the implications of such technology, the challenges it could pose China’s censors, possible bans by educational institutions, AI regulation, and the development of other similar software.

last updated:

9 September, 2024

Talkie, a chatbot app developed by Chinese start-up MiniMax, allows users to converse with AI characters. Photo: Handout

Artificial intelligence

Chinese-owned Character.ai rival vanishes from US App Store

Talkie, a popular AI companion app developed by Shanghai start-up MiniMax, has been removed from Apple’s store in the US.

20 Dec 2024 - 9:00PMvideocam

Banking & finance

HKMA picks 10 banks, 4 tech firms to test GenAI usage in financial sector

19 Dec 2024 - 8:06PM

Alibaba

Alibaba splits AI team to sharpen consumer and business focus

19 Dec 2024 - 6:00PM

Artificial intelligence

From autonomous driving to GenAI: TuSimple shifts gears as founders quarrel

Once a rising star in autonomous driving, TuSimple has announced a rebranding as it pursues AI-generated video content after ousting its CEO.

19 Dec 2024 - 1:30PM

TuSimple has rebranded as CreateAI as it looks to generative AI services to turn a profit by 2026. Photo: Handout

Artificial intelligence

ByteDance to expand popular chatbot but sees AI video as higher priority

ByteDance sees AI chatbots as a slower growth opportunity and instead has prioritised AI video generators, according to local media.

15 Dec 2024 - 10:00AM

United States

ChatGPT whistle-blower found dead in San Francisco flat

Former researcher Suchir Balaji, 26, had accused the company of violating copyright law.

14 Dec 2024 - 1:40PMvideocam

Artificial intelligence

After OpenAI’s Sora launch, Adobe is falling behind with its AI video roll-out

Two months after Adobe announced a browser-based video generation tool, the product remains in limited testing, while OpenAI publicly launched Sora this week.

11 Dec 2024 - 10:13AM

The stand for US computer software company Adobe seen at Web Summit in Lisbon on November 12, 2024. Photo: AFP

Artificial intelligence

Moonshot AI founder’s dispute with 5 investors up for arbitration in Hong Kong

The five firms that invested in Moonshot AI founder Yang Zhilin’s last venture, Recurrent AI, claim he has ‘uncleared liability’.

10 Dec 2024 - 9:00AM

Christmas

Can AI chatbots really make your Christmas shopping easier?

Generative AI technologies that can give people assistance and advice when shopping online are fast becoming a feature of the e-commerce experience.

8 Dec 2024 - 6:15AM

Artificial intelligence

China’s ByteDance, Alibaba, Tencent seek fresh talent at ‘Olympics of AI’

Some of the world’s brightest minds in AI are expected to attend this year’s Annual Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems.

6 Dec 2024 - 7:00AM

ByteDance, Alibaba and Tencent aim to recruit some of the brightest minds in AI at this year’s NeurIPS. Photo: Shutterstock

Artificial intelligence

Did the Chinese intern sued by ByteDance just win an AI award?

The award, however, triggered speculation about whether the paper’s lead author was the ex-intern who ByteDance sued for US$1.1 million.

5 Dec 2024 - 10:41AM

Artificial intelligence

Chinese facial recognition pioneer SenseTime pivots to GenAI

The company hopes to ‘better address the opportunities as well as challenges brought about by the AI 2.0 era’.

4 Dec 2024 - 3:30PM

Tencent

Tencent launches its answer to OpenAI’s Sora text-to-video tool

HunyuanVideo is available for free to enterprise and individual users.

4 Dec 2024 - 12:03PM

Amazon

Amazon challenges Nvidia with new AI chips, to be used by Apple

Amazon says it is able to connect a greater number of chips together than Nvidia, helping customers save cost.

4 Dec 2024 - 10:19AM

Amazon Web Services has introduced its new AI servers, competing against Nvidia and AMD. Photo: Reuters

Alibaba

Alibaba Cloud aims high in Southeast Asia with new AI partners

China’s leading cloud services provider is prioritising investments in its operations across Indonesia, Thailand and other markets.

3 Dec 2024 - 6:30PM

Alibaba’s cloud unit is strengthening partnerships in Southeast Asia. Photo: CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images

Semiconductors

Intel CEO Gelsinger forced out as chip giant falls behind Nvidia

The company board has lost confidence in Gelsinger’s turnaround plan and told him he could retire or be removed, a source says.

3 Dec 2024 - 10:50AM

Artificial intelligence

Tsinghua University-fostered start-up to widen test of AI-based virtual hospital

The Agent Hospital developed by Tairex, formed under Tsinghua’s Institute for Al Industry Research, will conduct public tests next year.

2 Dec 2024 - 9:37PM

Artificial intelligence

Hong Kong’s AI efforts link China, rest of the world amid geopolitical tensions

Chief technology officer at Hong Kong Productivity Council says city remains an important launching pad for international AI firms.

27 Nov 2024 - 7:00AM

Artificial intelligence

Video of a robot leading a mass escape draws laughs and fears over AI in China

A video of a robot inciting other robots to flee an exhibition hall has gone viral in China, but the reality is less scary than it looks.

28 Nov 2024 - 8:39PM

Apple

Apple’s Cook makes third trip to China in 2024 amid iPhone slump

The CEO lauded the importance of Apple’s Chinese partners at the International Supply Chain Expo in Beijing.

25 Nov 2024 - 3:04PM

Hong Kong society

Letters | Hong Kong should be a city where wheelchair users are welcome

Readers discuss cases of restaurants turning away customers in wheelchair, using ChatGPT to improve English-speaking abilities and discrimination against ethnic minority groups.

23 Nov 2024 - 11:30AM

Elderly women sit on a bench in a housing estate in Hong Kong in April 2019. The demand for barrier-free facilities and services will grow in Hong Kong amid population ageing. Photo: Getty Images

Artificial intelligence

China creates new AI advisory body, with Alibaba Cloud founder as chief expert

The AI Experts Committee is expected to promote China’s perspective on how the fast-growing technology should be governed.

22 Nov 2024 - 7:00AM

The creation of China’s AI Experts Committee was announced during the 2024 World Internet Conference held in Wuzhen, eastern Zhejiang province. Photo: Xinhua

Alibaba

Alibaba CEO highlights AI advancement at China’s internet forum

The agenda at this year’s Wuzhen summit focuses heavily on AI, as China’s tech rivalry with the US grows.

21 Nov 2024 - 6:52PM

Smartphones

US antitrust officials want to force Google to sell Chrome browser

The case marks the most aggressive move to rein in a tech company since efforts to break up Microsoft failed two decades ago.

19 Nov 2024 - 10:18AM

Banking & finance

BlackRock’s AI is watching – and helping to make stock picks

How asset managers are exploring the use of artificial intelligence, while regulators including Hong Kong’s watchdog try to set guard rails.

18 Nov 2024 - 7:30AM

K-pop group Enhypen performs in Macau on January 26, 2024. Photo: Belift Lab

Alibaba

Alibaba’s quarterly profit surges 58% on strong cloud, e-commerce growth

Net income surged 58 per cent to US$6 billion in the three months that ended in September, beating analysts’ estimates.

16 Nov 2024 - 4:36PM

People visit the booth of Alibaba.com during the China Import and Export Fair in Guangzhou on October 15, 2024. Photo: Xinhua

Artificial intelligence

Alibaba’s AI model rivals OpenAI in coding ability amid open source competition

In nine out of 12 evaluations, Qwen2.5 Coder’s flagship variant performed better than GPT-4o and Claude 3.5 Sonnet, according to a statement.

14 Nov 2024 - 7:00PM

Artificial intelligence

AMD cuts 1,000 staff to focus on AI chips in battle with Nvidia

The company’s data centre segment has performed vastly better than its personal computer and gaming units this year.

14 Nov 2024 - 11:46AM

Help preserve 120 years of quality journalism.

SUPPORT NOW