Last Sunday, March 16, the Chinese company Baidu announced that it had launched two new models of artificial intelligence.
The mentioned firm noted that one of its specified new virtual products is a reasoning-focused one. The company claims that this artificial intelligence model is a competitor to the AI model from DeepSeek, a Chinese developer of digital cognitive systems, which gained worldwide popularity this year.
Baidu is currently demonstrating its commitment to what can be described as effective participation in the machine intelligence race. In the Chinese artificial intelligence industry, competition has increased significantly after the success of DeepSeek. The mentioned startup has developed machine intelligence models that, as it says, are not inferior in terms of performance to similar advanced virtual products from companies from the United States and at the same time provide for lower financial costs associated with elaborating. DeepSeek’s AI systems have become something of a sensation for the artificial intelligence industry. Against this background, other Chinese machine intelligence developers have intensified their efforts to develop digital products.
One of the new artificial intelligence models from Baidu has been named Ernie X1. The company stated that this virtual product delivers performance on par with DeepSeek R1 for only half the price. Baidu also noted that Ernie X1 is characterized by stronger capabilities of understanding, planning, reflection, and evolution. Moreover, the company stated that the mentioned virtual product is the first deep-thinking model that uses tools autonomously.
The second new artificial intelligence model from Baidu is called Ernie 4.5. The company stated that this virtual product has excellent multimodal understanding capability. Baidu also noted that Ernie 4.5 has more advanced language ability. Moreover, it was underlined that the abilities of this foundation model of artificial intelligence for understanding, generation, logic, and memorization are comprehensively improved.
Besides, Baidu stated that Ernie 4.5 has a high EQ, and it is easy to understand network memes or satirical cartoons.
It is worth noting that the mentioned company is one of the Chinese technology giants. After the start of the so-called artificial intelligence boom, Baidu launched an AI-powered chatbot. This virtual product is similar to ChatGPT, developed by OpenAI. The company also sought to achieve widespread adoption of its large language model Ernie. Baidu claimed that the mentioned virtual product provides performance comparable to that demonstrated by OpenAI’s GPT-4.
Multimodal artificial intelligence systems are capable of processing and integrating various types of data, including text, video, images, and audio. Also, the mentioned models can convert the specified content across different formats.
The high level of competition currently observed in the artificial intelligence industry is highly likely not only to continue but also to grow in the foreseeable future. The corresponding assumption is related to the fact that AI is actually the main technology of modernity and has great potential, which is why a large-scale desire to develop digital cognitive systems is logical.
It is also worth noting that in the era of artificial intelligence that has begun, the issue of cybersecurity has increased in relevance. Scammers also have access to AI tools, which is why their activities have become more sophisticated. To counteract the corresponding threat in the virtual space, personal awareness of users is important. For example, an Internet search query such as how to know if my camera is hacked will allow anyone to get information about signs of unauthorized access to the device. Digital literacy is an effective tool for combating cybercrime. At the same time, relevant knowledge should be updated periodically, as criminals seek to use the most advanced technologies in their activities. Technologies are developing almost continuously.
