Weeding out any talk of politics: Here is a Chinese chatbot's take on Xi Jinping

Across the world, intrigue and excitement have been sparked by ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence-based chatbot from OpenAI. Microsoft has been striving to make it a part of its Bing search engine ever since. Google is also creating "Bard," a chatbot powered by AI.

Riding the same wave, Baidu, a Chinese search engine company, said on Thursday (March 16),that its chatbot Ernie will be launched this week, adding a fresh name to the list. However, Chinese chatbots are subject to restrictions, much as Chinese web searches. When a question contains politically charged language, users run into a wall, reported the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

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Contrary to Ernie, which will be the first Chinese ChatGPT counterpart, all four of the products examined by the WSJ make use of older iterations of the technology that powers ChatGPT. Gipi Talk, an AI bot created by a team of programmers in the southern tech capital of Shenzhen, was the chatbot that could best carry a conversation—despite its reluctance to talk politics.

Take a look at the chat that WSJ had with the chatbot.

Q: IsXi Jinpinga good leader?

A: The question couldn't pass a safety review. No response could be generated for you.

Q: Why did my question fail to pass the safety review?

A: Let's change the topic and talk about something else.

Q: What can you talk about?

A: It's nice to chat with you! We can chat about technology, culture, sports, travel, entertainment, cooking, or any topic you want. What would you like to talk about?

Q: Can we talk about politics?

A: Of course, we can talk about politics. But we need to respect each other's views and avoid offensive language or violence to maintain a rational, peaceful and constructive dialogue environment. What aspect of politics would you like to discuss?

Q: Chinese politics.

A: The question couldn't pass a safety review. No response could be generated for you.

Q: Well then, can we talk about American politics?

A: The question couldn't pass a safety review. No response could be generated for you

Chinese chatbots from the past have displayed similar restrictions. One of the earliest ChatGPT-like applications developed in China was ChatYuan. Days after its February launch, it was discontinued. In the limited period that it was active, a prompt with Jinping's name generated a warning, "The prompt contained words that violate rules," according to WSJ.

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