ChatGPT Craze Sweeps China As Firms Scramble For Home-Grown Options

The popular ChatGPT app, developed by Microsoft-backed OpenAI, isn't available to Chinese customers, but the software is generating a lot of interest there. Businesses are racing to implement the technology into their goods and introduce competing offerings. Virtual private networks (VPNs) and international phone lines are assisting some people to get around the country's prohibitions on creating OpenAI accounts in order to access the AI chatbot. The OpenAI models used in the ChatGPT program, which have the ability to compose essays, recipes, and complex computer code, are also rapidly being used in Chinese consumer technology applications, such as social networks and online stores. Due to the tool's explosive growth, China is becoming increasingly aware of how sophisticated American artificial intelligence is and, according to observers, just how far behind tech companies in the second-largest economy are as they try to catch up. "There is huge excitement around ChatGPT. Unlike the metaverse which faces huge difficulty in finding real-life application, ChatGPT has suddenly helped us achieve human-computer interaction," said Ding Daoshi, an independent internet analyst and former director of Beijing-based consultancy Sootoo. "The changes it will bring about are more immediate, more direct and way quicker." Although OpenAI or ChatGPT are not prohibited by Chinese authorities, users from Hong Kong, Iran, Russia, and some regions of Africa are unable to sign up with OpenAI. This restriction's explanation has never been made public by OpenAI, and the company declined to comment when Reuters requested it. WeChat, the most popular messaging app in China owned by Tencent Holdings, shut down a number of ChatGPT-related programs in December, but new ones have since started to appear. Also read: AI stocks surge in latest Wall Street amid rising craze for ChatGPT WeChat has seen the emergence of dozens of bots that are ChatGPT-enabled, with hobbyists utilizing it to create scripts or automated accounts that can communicate with users. For 20 questions, at least one account charges customers 9.99 yuan ($1.47). In response to Reuters' request for remarks, Tencent remained silent. ChatGPT is extremely capable of speaking in Chinese and facilitates Chinese language engagement, which has contributed to its unofficial popularity in the nation. Chinese businesses can obtain tools that enable them to incorporate AI technology into their goods by using proxy tools or current alliances like Microsoft, which is investing billions of dollars in its OpenAI.