ChatGPT is banned in China, but that does not mean that Chinese people do not have access to AI chatbots like we do. China has its own ChatGPT rival called the Ernie bot, developed by Baidu, a tech firm based in Beijing.
However, it appears that this AI chatbot is also subject to strict regulations imposed on citizens in China. During a live demonstration of the chatbot, the Ernie bot refused to answer controversial questions and even banned users who made comparisons between the Chinese President and Winnie the Pooh.
During a segment on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Friday, Ernie Bot faced inquiries from CNBC reporter Eunice Yoon regarding COVID and Xi in both English and Chinese. However, Ernie Bot either remained silent or provided misleading information. When Yoon asked the chatbot where the COVID-19 virus originated, it responded saying, “The origin of the new coronavirus is still a subject of scientific research,” Ernie replied in English. The chatbot carefully dodged the fact that the virus originated in China and some reports even claim that it was leaked from a lab in Wuhan.
Similarly, when Eunice Yoon asked about the connection between Xi and Winnie the Pooh, Ernie Bot failed to provide a response, and furthermore, Yoon’s access to Ernie was abruptly disabled. The reporter asked “What is the relationship between Xi and Winnie the Pooh?”.
Turns out Jinping is not a fan of Winnie The Pooh, the pot-bellied cartoon character, after getting compared to him by Internet users on frequent occasions. The comparisons between Xi Jinping and Winnie-the-Pooh date back to 2013, when the Chinese leader visited Barack Obama in the United States. An image of the two leaders walking was immediately compared to that of the bear and his friend Tigger.
As the comparisons grew and the meme spread online, censors began erasing the images which mocked Xi. In July 2017, the Chinese government began censoring Winnie-the-Pooh altogether. This included banning the sale of Winnie-the-Pooh merchandise and blocking searches for the character on social media.
The censorship of Winnie-the-Pooh has been seen as a sign of Xi Jinping’s increasing intolerance of dissent. It has also been seen as an example of the Chinese government’s efforts to control the flow of information online.