iFlytek launches Spark Model to ‘surpass’ ChatGPT

A state-sponsored Chinese Artificial Intelligence (AI) corporation recently announced the release of “Spark Model,” an AI system designed to directly compete with OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

The launch of the new system by iFlytek took place at the “Spark Desk” tech event in Hefei and included a comprehensive demonstration of its capabilities.

According to a translation provided by Bing, iFlytek founder and president Liu Qingfeng told event attendees that the Spark Model, also known as the “cognitive big model,” signified the “dawn of general artificial intelligence.”

While there is no scientific consensus on whether general artificial intelligence (also known as AGI) is even possible using current machine learning techniques, the billionaire tech entrepreneur offered a comparison to ChatGPT and an updated schedule:

“This year, we will continue to upgrade the big model, and on October 10, we will surpass ChatGPT in the Chinese [language] and reach the same level as it in English.”

Spark Model’s underlying technology is unknown at the time of this article’s publication, but according to Qingfeng, the AI’s capabilities are “far ahead of the existing system that can be measured in China.”

It can be challenging to make direct comparisons between ChatGPT and comparable models in the absence of side-by-side benchmarking.

OpenAI not only conceals training details and other proprietary information, but ChatGPT is also prohibited in China, limiting its ability to train its models on Chinese languages and culture.

The current ChatGPT ban in China has been described as potentially stifling, especially in comparison to Hong Kong, a special administrative region of the People’s Republic of China, where there is no population-wide ban on the use of technologies like ChatGPT and cryptocurrency.

ChatGPT’s capacity to generate code and serve as a foundational technology for the development of advanced trading algorithms and portfolio analysis has increased its popularity among cryptocurrency users and businesses in Hong Kong and the rest of the world.

If the proposed upgrades to the Spark Model are successful in giving iFlytek an edge over OpenAI and ChatGPT, it will not only be a monumental moment in technology (ChatGPT is widely regarded as one of the most powerful generative AI systems available today), but it will also have occurred in a relatively short period of time.

According to Qingfeng, the company’s research branch began work on Spark Model on December 22, 2022, just six months ago. OpenAI began developing the precursor to its GPT products in 2015, in contrast. ChatGPT was not introduced until November 30, 2022.