China appears to have shut down the availability of ChatGPT, developed by American company OpenAI, as Chinese tech companies try to develop their own equivalent. Many Chinese companies saw their shares drop as the news spread.
Why it matters: Chinese state-run media is claiming that ChatGPT is spreading disinformation with regard to Chinese human rights abuses and detention centers. Beijing denies this activity and indicates these centers have been dismantled.
- While the West plans to expand upon the global AI race, China has restricted Amazon, Google, and Facebook from operating in China while allowing their domestic companies, such as Alibaba and Baidu to grow into international players.
- As Alibaba and Baidu roll out their AI chatbots, the playing field will only grow and the race will continue to heat up. Baidu announced a March roll out for its chatbot.
