ChatGPT takes off in China
Discussions in China about how ChatGPT and AI will affect workers and their jobs
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ChatGPT has gone viral on Chinese social media over the last two weeks.
Many people are asking why China's tech firms are lagging behind western AI innovators.
Now some of China's biggest tech firms finally responded.
Baidu has revealed it will launch the public version of "Ernie Bot" in March this year; Alibaba DAMO Academy is also developing a ChatGPT-like chatbot, which is in the closed beta stage; JD has officially announced ChatJD, which will be a version of ChatGPT for different industries.
百度透露将于今年3月推出“文心一言”,面向公众开放;阿里达摩院也在研发类ChatGPT对话机器人,已进入内测阶段;京东官宣ChatJD,要做产业版ChatGPT
Internet security firm, Qihoo 360, has also announced it was trialling its own version of ChatGPT.
So now discussions in China are more about how AI will affect people's lives, especially their jobs. How can AI be used to slack off at work? What will happen to some professions such as teachers?
There’s also angst that ChatGPT, Ernie Bot and other AI will be competing for, and beating people to, jobs of the future:
ChatGPT has exploded in popularity. This has drawn attention to AI from all sectors, and also made many workers tremble with fear.
聊天机器人ChatGPT爆火,引发各界对人工智能(AI)概念关注讨论的同时,也令不少打工人“瑟瑟发抖”
A question being discussed in China is:
Is AI in the future a scourge that will kill job opportunities, or will it be a catalyst that will bring new life to industries? In the face of possible unemployment, how should public policy respond?
未来的人工智能究竟是抹杀工作机会的“洪水猛兽”,还是为各行业带来新生的催化剂?面对可能的失业风险,公共政策又该如何应对?[2]
So that’s what we explore this week: The language of worry, competition, and occasionally a bit of cheating.
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Favourite Five
1. 卷死 juǎn sǐ
compete to death
ChatGPT 大热,要把打工人都卷死 - ChatGPT is really hot. It’s going to kill off a lot of people’s jobs.
Note: We've discussed in recent newsletters how juǎn 卷 has changed in meaning in the last few months. It can have positive or negative connotations depending on the context.
2. 划水 huá shuǐ
rowing; to slack off
一些聪明人已经用ChatGPT划起了水 - Some clever people have started to use ChatGPT so they can slack off at work.
Note: Similar to 摸鱼 mō yú - "feeling fish" which was also been in conversations this week.
3. 废话文学 fèi huà wén xué
talking lots of rubbish
“ChatGPT就是一个废话文学生成器,”一位互联网大厂中层告诉我 - ‘ChatGPT is a tool for talking lots of hot air’, one mid-level exec from an internet company said.
Note: An internet slang word.
Related: 废话连篇 fèi huà lián piān - talking nonsense
4. 瑟瑟发抖 sè sè fā dǒu
trembling with fear
聊天机器人ChatGPT爆火,引发各界对人工智能(AI)概念关注讨论的同时,也令不少打工人“瑟瑟发抖” - ChatGPT has exploded in popularity. This has drawn attention to AI from all sectors, and also made many workers tremble with fear.
More: We explore this in more detail in this week's China Project Phrase of the Week.
5. 洪水猛兽 hóng shuǐ měng shòu
massive floods, and wild animals; a scourge
未来的人工智能可能是抹杀工作机会的“洪水猛兽” - The future of AI may be disastrous, killing off many job opportunities.
Note: We discussed this previously in May last year. Zoe also goes deep in the podcast.
Consuming the Conversation
Useful words
6. 囿于 yòu yú
under the constraint of
我们抱怨PPT,但囿于职场规则,又无法挣脱 - We complain about powerpoint presentations. But we can’t break free because of workplace norms.
Note: Formal expression.
7. 炮灰 pào huī
cannon fodder
效率革命就要来了,这一次,什么样的人能不当炮灰呢 - The efficiency revolution is coming. What kinds of people can avoid being cannon fodder this time?
Note: Discussed before in April last year.
8. 出圈 chū quān
go mainstream
AI的“出圈”时刻 - This is the moment AI goes mainstream.
More: We last discussed this in June last year. Normally used in context of niche celebrities going mainstream.
9. 萌芽 méng yá
budding
这些人工智能大佬们的经历,也见证了人工智能研究的萌芽阶段 - The these top AI experts also witnessed the nascent stage of artificial intelligence research.
10. 比拼 bǐ pīn
competition
ChatGPT爆火,也引发科技巨头间的“比拼” - ChatGPT’s success has already led to the intense competition among big tech firms.
11. 平替 píng tì
a cheaper substitute
现在的许多工作,ChatGPT 都能一手包办,有的甚至能直接平替人 - ChatGPT can handle many jobs on its own now, and for some it can even directly replace human workers.
Three-character phrases
12. 里程碑 lǐ chéng bēi
milestone
在业界看来,泛用性极强的ChatGPT已成为AI发展史上的里程碑 - From an industry perspective, the highly versatile ChatGPT has become a milestone in the history of AI development.
13. 催化剂 cuī huà jì
catalyst
这会为各行业带来新生的催化剂 - This will create a catalyst to renew various industries.
14. 妖魔化 yāo mó huà
demonise
有必要对 AI 这么害怕?我们是不是对 AI 过于“妖魔化”了 - Is there any need to be so scared? Are we over-demonising AI?
Idioms
15. 横空出世 héng kōng chū shì
came roaring into existence
ChatGPT横空出世两个多月后,这一忧虑进一步被放大 - More than two months after ChatGPT was born, this worry has been further magnified.
More: An expression which first appeared in one of Mao’s works. Zoe explains in the podcast.
16. 忧心忡忡 yōu xīn chōng chōng
anxious
有一些人则忧心忡忡 - Some people are really worried.
Note: We last discussed this in August last year.
17. 内忧外患 nèi yōu wài huàn
internal and external worries
即便内忧外患不少,360依然有屡败屡战的决心 - Even though there are many internal and external troubles, 360 is still determined to continue the fight despite setbacks.
18. 近在咫尺 jìn zài zhǐchǐ
close at hand
利用ChatGPT一键自动生成100页文字满满当当、制作精美的PPT,就要近在咫尺了 - The ability to use ChatGPT to automatically generate with one click 100 pages of beautifully crafted PPT full of text is close at hand.
More: Part of the longer phrase: 凛然威光,近在咫尺 lǐn rán wēi guāng, jìn zài zhǐ chǐ from an essay by Song dynasty poet Sū Shì 苏轼
19. 出师不利 chū shī bú lì
a bad start
谷歌AI聊天机器人Bard出师不利,市值一夜蒸发7000亿 - Google's AI chatbot, Bard, got off to a bad start. Its market value lost 700 billion overnight.
20. 冰山一角 bīng shān yì jiǎo
tip of the iceberg
AIGC作为“创作大师”的强大潜力由此显露出冰山一角 - AIGC has revealed the tip of the iceberg of AI’s powerful potential as a “creative master”.
Note: This originally came from the English idiom, but is now officially recognised as a Chinese idiom.
Phrases
21. 火力全开 huǒ lì quán kāi
full fire; go all in on something
最卷的打工人们已经火力全开,将其用在了职场内卷里 - The most competitive workers have gone all in, using it as a way to out-compete colleagues.
22. 一手包办 yì shǒu bāo bàn
single handedly
现在的许多工作,ChatGPT 都能一手包办,有的甚至能直接平替人 - ChatGPT can handle many jobs on its own now, and for some it can even directly replace human workers.
23. 风头正盛 fēng tóu zhèng shèng
in its heyday
无论是风头正盛的ChatGPT,还是此前引发广泛关注的 AI 绘画,AIGC(人工智能生产内容)都展示了其令人着迷的能力 - Whether it's ChatGPT, which is in the limelight, or the AI Art Generator,which has previously attracted great attention, AIGC (AI-generated content) has demonstrated its fascinating capabilities.
24. 一夜爆火 yí yè bào huǒ
overnight success
实际上,ChatGPT“一夜爆火”背后,是深度学习技术的十年发展进程 - In fact, behind ChatGPT's "overnight explosion" is the decade-long development of deep learning.
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