China's Baidu unveils 2 AI models amid growing industry competition
What's the story
In a move to stay ahead in the fast-paced artificial intelligence (AI) game, Chinese tech giant Baidu has launched two new AI models, ERNIE 4.5 and X1.
The ERNIE 4.5 model is said to have "excellent multimodal understanding ability," with enhanced language skills and better comprehension, generation, logic, and memory capabilities.
It also has high emotional intelligence (EQ) to interpret internet memes and satirical cartoons accurately.
Model features
ERNIE 4.5 and X1: A closer look
The ERNIE 4.5 model makes Baidu one of China's first tech giants to create a ChatGPT-like chatbot.
Although it claims GPT-4-like performance, Baidu has struggled to get its Ernie large language model widely adopted amid fierce competition.
Meanwhile, Baidu touts the X1 model as having "stronger understanding, planning, reflection, and evolution capabilities." It is also claimed to be the first deep thinking model that can autonomously use tools.
Industry trend
The rise of multimodal AI systems
Multimodal AI systems, such as Baidu's ERNIE 4.5, are becoming increasingly popular as they can process and integrate different types of data—text, video, images, and audio.
These systems can convert content between different formats seamlessly.
This trend is also fueled by the rise of Chinese AI start-up DeepSeek which has introduced AI models that it claims match or surpass industry-leading US models at a fraction of the cost.