ERNIE Bot 4.0, run by Chinese tech giant Baidu, is touted to be in the same league as industry darling chatbot GPT-4.
Unveiled in October and launched to paying subscribers in November, ERNIE 4.0, an upgraded version of Baidu’s first ChatGPT competitor, “is not inferior in any aspect to GPT-4,” Baidu’s (BIDU) billionaire CEO Robin Li has said.
We tested each bot by entering written prompts in its primary language.
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ERNIE is mainly designed to be used in Chinese, though it can handle English queries at a less advanced level. GPT-4 is optimized for use in English, but it can also take questions in other languages, such as German.
Here’s what we found:
ERNIE beat GPT-4 on certain prompts, such as those related to current affairs. The Chinese bot knew that Taylor Swift is now a billionaire, that China had recently removed its defense minister and that “Friends” star Matthew Perry had died.
GPT, meanwhile, had outdated answers to these questions, stating that “there were no widely reported instances of an American country singer becoming a billionaire” and “no reports of any cast member from the television show ‘Friends’ passing away.” It named a former official when asked who China’s defense minister was.
In each answer, the bot said it was relying on information from April 2023, the month its database was last updated.
OpenAI, the owner of GPT-4, has acknowledged the need to expand its knowledge base, saying in November that a new version will incorporate more information than its previous model.
“We are just as annoyed as all of you, probably more, that GPT’s knowledge of the world ended in 2021,” CEO Sam Altman quipped at the company’s first developer conference last month.
CNN gave ERNIE and GPT a few simple tasks. The takeaway: You can’t go wrong with either.
On one assignment, we asked both bots to help a hardworking graphic designer ask their boss for a raise.
Each outlined compelling arguments in prospective emails, pointing out the employee’s contributions and requesting a meeting to discuss the matter in person.
In some respects, ERNIE seemed to know how to read the room better, suggesting the user take note of the mood at the company or other relevant factors, such as budget constraints.
GPT, on the other hand, shared a strong practical tip, urging the staffer to include a document highlighting their recent achievements.
The results were similar when we got ERNIE and GPT to come up with healthy meal plans.
Asked to provide five ideas for high-protein, low-carb lunches during the week, both offered similar — or in some cases, the exact same — options, including grilled chicken salads, tuna or turkey lettuce wraps and lots of greens. Their responses were virtually identical.