China's slow AI roll-out points to its tech sector's new regulatory reality

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

China has joined the global rush to generative artificial intelligence, boasting close to 80 AI models from firms like Baidu and Alibaba and startups attracting almost $14 billion of funding over the last six months. But unlike in the West, where OpenAI's ChatGPT has attracted more than 100 million monthly users whose inputs help it to learn from to constantly refine and improve its product, no Chinese AI chatbots have been made available to the general public.

It speaks to the new reality in China's technology sector and the effectiveness of Beijing's years-long regulatory crackdown, culminating with large fines against Ant Group and Tencent last week. Once known for a cutthroat, «race to market» spirit particularly in the consumer internet sector, companies are slowing down to toe the line and take their cues from Beijing.

The previously free-wheeling industry is now seen to be largely compliant, with firms from Alibaba to Tencent making over their businesses, slowing down expansion into new areas and laying off thousands of staff. New rules Chinese firms have to comply with range from algorithm vetting to accepting security reviews of data they want to export.

But while Beijing now has a handle over what it viewed as excesses and misbehaviour that arose from the industry's runaway growth, some experts are beginning to sound the alarm bells on the impact on future competitiveness with Western rivals, given the balance companies are having to strike. Chinese regulators last week said most of the problems with the country's platform companies had been rectified, moves seen as a signal the crackdown is finally over.