🌀 Baidu’s new AI models challenge industry leaders
A new AI model can play thousands of different games instantly
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Hey there, AI enthusiasts. China's tech giant Baidu is taking the lead in the AI race with its ERNIE models doing better than Western AI systems in tests with images and text.
With costs half as much as competitors and free for regular people to use, China might be changing how much advanced AI should cost.
In Today’s AI Daily:
- Baidu's ERNIE models work better than Western AI systems
- Tencent's PORTAL can play thousands of different games right away
- Hospitals using AI nursing helpers during nurse shortage
- Figure starts making large numbers of human-like robots
- OpenAI and Elon Musk speed up their court fight
BAIDU
🧠 Baidu’s new AI models challenge industry leaders
Image source: Baidu
What’s up: Chinese tech giant Baidu has released two new AI models called ERNIE 4.5 and X1. These models perform better than well-known systems like GPT-4o and DeepSeek R1. Tests show ERNIE 4.5 scored 77.77% on tasks involving different types of information, while GPT-4o scored 73.92%.
Key notes:
- ERNIE X1 is a special thinking model that works as well as DeepSeek R1 but costs half as much - only $0.28 per million words processed.
- ERNIE 4.5 can handle text, images and other information together, with better understanding and fewer made-up facts.
- Regular people can use both models for free through the ERNIE Bot, while businesses can access them through Baidu's Qianfan service.
- Baidu plans to add these models to many of its products, including Baidu Search and the Wenxiaoyan app.
Why it matters: As companies around the world race to build better AI, Baidu's new models show China is catching up to Western technology. By offering similar performance at much lower prices, Baidu could help more people and businesses use AI, especially in places where cost matters a lot.
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TENCENT
🎮 Tencent unveils AI system that masters thousands of 3D games
Image source: Tencent / Screenshot
What’s up: Tencent's research team just introduced PORTAL, a new AI system that can play thousands of different 3D video games. Unlike other game-playing AI that needs lots of practice, PORTAL uses language models to create game plans quickly.
Key notes:
- The system uses language models to make "behavior trees" - like step-by-step plans for what to do in games.
- PORTAL combines simple rules with smart learning to handle both big-picture strategy and precise controls.
- Old AI systems needed weeks of training and powerful computers, but PORTAL can start playing right away.
- The system has successfully played thousands of first-person shooter games without needing much setup time.
Why it matters: Most game AI has to be completely retrained whenever there's a new game, which takes a lot of time and money. Tencent's approach changes everything by turning complex game decisions into language problems. This could change not just how AI plays games, but also how robots and self-driving cars make decisions in the real world.
HEALTHCARE
👩 Hospitals deploy AI assistants as nursing shortage grows
Image source: AP / Xoltar
What’s up: Hippocratic AI has launched "Ana," an AI assistant that can help patients prepare for medical appointments and answer health questions in multiple languages, signaling the growing presence of AI in traditionally nurse-staffed roles across U.S. hospitals.
Key notes:
- Ana provides 24/7 support, speaks languages like Hindi and Creole, and costs only $9 per hour while human nurses cost $40.
- More than 100 hospitals now use AI to watch patients' health signs, spot problems, and start treatment plans.
- Nurse groups have held over 20 protests, saying AI ignores nurses' knowledge and hurts patient care.
- Tech companies Qventus and Xoltar are creating systems ranging from administrative assistants to video avatars for patient interaction.
Why it matters: A critical nursing shortage exists, with 100,000 nurses leaving during COVID and an annual need for 190,000 new nurses through 2032. While hospitals see AI as a cost-effective solution, nurses express concerns about accuracy, safety, and the ethical implications of automated healthcare decisions.
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