On Tuesday, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd demonstrated its generative AI model—its take on the technology that underpins chatbot phenomenon ChatGPT—and announced that it would soon be included into all of the company’s apps.

The government’s publication of draft regulations describing how generative AI services should be controlled occurred shortly after the unveiling, which followed the debut of a number of new AI products by SenseTime this week.
The AI large language model, Tongyi Qianwen, which translates to “truth from a thousand inquiries,” was seen in a video writing invitation letters, scheduling travel plans, and advising customers on what kind of makeup to buy.

Tongyi Qianwen can be used to summarize meeting notes, create emails, and draft business proposals. It will first be incorporated into DingTalk, Alibaba’s office messaging app. Moreover, Tmall Genie, Alibaba’s voice assistant, will receive it.

CEO Daniel Zhang stated at the livestreamed event that the technology “will bring about huge changes to the way we produce, the way we work, and the way we live our lives.”

He went on to say that Tongyi Qianwen’s AI models represent “the overall picture for making AI more mainstream in the future.”

The cloud division of the Chinese internet giant has started taking registrations for the purpose of opening Tongyi Qianwen to users so they can create their own unique huge language models.

According to the Cyberspace Administration of China’s draft regulations, the nation encouraged the development and adoption of the technology but required that the content produced adhere to “fundamental socialist ideals” and to the country’s data security and privacy laws.

It further said that violators of the regulations risk fines or a criminal probe.

The proposed regulations, which are available for public comment until May 10th, come at a time when governments all over the world are considering the best ways to regulate generative AI technology, which has raised many ethical questions as well as concerns about its effects on national security, employment, and education.

In an open letter highlighting potential hazards to society, Elon Musk and a group of artificial intelligence specialists and business executives have also urged for a six-month halt in the development of systems more formidable than OpenAI’s recently released GPT-4.

Beijing’s new regulations, according to 86Research analyst Charlie Chai, may slow down development “in exchange for a more orderly and socially responsible deployment of the technology.”

He continued by saying that they will help domestic businesses by creating barriers for international businesses seeking to offer AI services in the nation.

Chinese tech firms are cautious to tread lightly when discussing delicate subjects like Chinese President Xi Jinping and the 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations in Tiananmen Square since China has long imposed strict internet censorship.

When questioned by Reuters last month, search engine Baidu’s Ernie chatbot—one of many AI models or chatbots unveiled or hyped by Chinese companies—refused to answer queries on such subjects or wanted to change the subject. The bot is currently only accessible to trial users.

Alibaba’s stock increased 1% in Hong Kong trade. Shares of SenseTime, a company whose latest offerings include the AI chatbot SenseChat, originally rose but later remained unchanged.