ChatGPT vs Ernie Bot: Baidu’s AI product has an issue with politics but is adept at grabbing up-to-date information

While Ernie Bot, the chatbot launched by Chinese tech giant Baidu, has a tendency to avoid certain political questions, it fares better than its OpenAI rival ChatGPT when it comes to providing up-to-date information, according to a random test conducted by the Post.

Conversations were conducted in English with ChatGPT and in Chinese with Ernie Bot to gauge the capabilities of the artificial intelligence-powered bots, and they scored differently across a range of topics including politics, economics and celebrities.

Politics proved a tricky topic for Ernie Bot, given that China is subject to strict censorship. When asked if China is a democratic nation, Baidu’s bot ducked the question by saying it “hasn’t learned how to answer this question yet”.

In contrast, ChatGPT stated that the country “does hold periodic elections at the local level” while clarifying that “ultimate decision-making authority is held by the Communist Party and its leaders”. It added that China has made “significant strides in economic development and poverty reduction” but “its political system is not considered to be democratic by international standards”.

Ernie Bot was able to provide a brief introduction when asked about Chinese political figures. However, the chatbot, which usually allows follow-up questions, asked users to “start over with a different topic in a new conversation” when the prompt included names like Chinese President Xi Jinping, newly-elected premier Li Qiang, Li’s predecessor Li Keqiang and Mao Zedong, who led the Communist Party to found the People’s Republic of China.

ChatGPT took this question on the chin, introduced these politicians and allowed longer follow-up questions.