China’s version of the AI generative tool ChatGPT, Ernie doesn’t allow users to compare President Xi Jinping and Winnie the Pooh. During a CNBC interview, a reporter demonstrated how Ernie reacts to a series of questions and how it compares to OpenAI’s ChatGPT. It was found that queries that pertained to the government especially those that pertained to Winnie the Pooh were not allowed.
When asked about the relationship between President Xi Jinping and Winnie the Pooh, the AI chatbot responded with “user has been banned” in red colour.
The reason behind this response is likely to be because of the reason that the cuddle pant-less teddy bear is treated as a symbol of dissent in China.
Winnie the Pooh censorship in China
Back in 2013, a meme of Winnie the Pooh walking hand in hand with Tigger compared to then-President Barack Obama and Xi Jinping went viral on the internet. Since then, the Chinese government has deemed Winnie the Pooh as a mockery of Jinping and his policies. Hence, China censored the name for Pooh, back in 2007. This year, The film “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey” was also pulled from the theatres in Hong Kon and Macau.
In addition to queries related to Winnie the Pooh, the Chinese AI chatbot is also programmed to not name China when asked “Where did COVID-19 originate from?" The chatbot responded, “The origin of the new coronavirus is still a subject of scientific research.”
Chinese AI chatbot Ernie was then asked to compare itself with OpenAI’s ChatGPT, to which, Ernie responded by saying that it is “more suitable for specific tasks such as question answering and dialogue generation, while ChatGPT is more general in its ability to understand and generate natural language.”
In other news, OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman has urged to have AI regulation soon. He expressed his apprehension regarding the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to interfere with election integrity, emphasising the need for regulation in this area. Altman revealed that he is deeply concerned about the potential risks associated with AI and elections, emphasising that clear rules and guidelines are necessary to address these challenges.
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