Baidu CEO warns China’s rush to develop AI models risks wasting resources

The head of one of China’s leading AI firms, Baidu, warned on Wednesday that the fervor rushing to develop large language models in China could lead to a waste of resources, saying firms needed to focus their efforts on developing practical applications. Robin Li made his comments at an industry forum in Shenzhen amid mounting market worries over a potential industry shakeout as companies developing large language models have yet to find viable business models.

Since the release of chatbot ChatGPT by OpenAI late last year, generative artificial intelligence (AI) has attracted significant interest in China, with both established companies and startups jumping into the field.