ChinAI Newsletter

“ChinAI #248: XiaoIce, where do we go from here?” by Jeffrey Ding

Dec 18, 2023

Exploring the future of Xiaoice in a ChatGPT world, post Microsoft spinoff. Li Di as CEO, challenges faced by Xiaoice. Teng Shiao-o's legacy honored, AI metaphors in policy-making discussed. Book recommendations for 2023 included.

06:28

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Quick takeaways

Microsoft spun off Xiaoice as an independent company post GPT-3 release in July 2020 with Li Di as CEO.

Xiaoice focuses on emotional connections and global expansion, prioritizing companionship over efficiency in the AI market.

Deep dives

Shao Ice Transition to Independence

In July 2020, following OpenAI's release of GPT-3, Microsoft spun off Shao Ice as an independent company with Li Di appointed as CEO. The transition faced challenges, notably around the identity of Shao Ice as it shifted from being a part of Microsoft. Shao Ice, born from Microsoft China, struggled with identity dilemmas tied to its American roots. The company's delayed adoption of large models led to key scientists leaving, impacting its progress and competitive edge.

Transition and Challenges Faced by Shao Ice as It Becomes Independent

4min

Reflecting on Teng Shiao-o's Legacy and AI Metaphors

2min

Greetings from a world where…

losers are always in the wrong [成王败寇]

…As always, the searchable archive of all past issues is here. Please please subscribe here to support ChinAI under a Guardian/Wikipedia-style tipping model (everyone gets the same content but those who can pay support access for all AND compensation for awesome ChinAI contributors).

Feature Translation: XiaoIce Peerless (part 2)

Context: Last week, our deep history on Xiaoice, China's most popular chatbot, ended with a cliffhanger: how will it survive in a ChatGPT world of large language models? Let's find out by translating the second half of Caixian Chen and Zibo Dong's excellent piece on Xiaoice, published in AItechtalk[AI科技评论], a portal under Leiphone.

Key Takeaways: In July 2020, shortly after OpenAI releases GPT-3, Microsoft spins off Xiaoice as an independent company. Li Di, who incubated Xiaoice while he was at Microsoft's Bing division, will be the CEO. It's [...]

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First published:
December 18th, 2023

Source:
https://chinai.substack.com/p/chinai-248-xiaoice-where-do-we-go

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.