back to article China’s Baidu claims its ERNIE chatbot reinvents the computing stack

Chinese web giant Baidu has launched ERNIEbot, its chatbot based on a large language model, and claimed it represents not just a fine chatbot but also a reinvention of computing. In a presentation in Chinese, translated in real-time by a human, a Baidu spokesperson described current computing paradigms as relying on three …

  1. Neil Barnes Silver badge
    Terminator

    Remind me

    Where does a 6502 fit in this paradigm?

    1. Zippy´s Sausage Factory

      Re: Remind me

      Just what I was thinking - they've gone the 1980s home micro route of "let's ignore the OS and write directly to the hardware, thus making our code run really fast but totally non-portable"

      Although that said it's probably written in C or Rust rather than assembly so it's still probably not as fast as a Real Programmer could make it...

      1. Xalran

        Re: Remind me

        But why waste the money needed to hire a Real Programmer to code in assembly, when you can use a pack of educated monkeys paid in bananas to code in Rust or C ?

        Especially as in the end the user won't see any difference with all the memory capacity, calculation capacity and speed modern processors have compared to the 6502. ( or the 6809 )

      2. Esoteric Eric

        Re: Remind me

        Given the state of windows these days

        You're saying that's a bad thing....

    2. Dan 55 Silver badge

      Re: Remind me

      We only need to worry if the Apple II-powered chatbot starts asking you for your boots, your clothes, and your motorcycle.

    3. Dante Alighieri
      FAIL

      Apologies -reference?

      Not something I often ask,

      but I am struggling with your reference, even after a google.

      I program 6502 machine code

      I am entirely unsure how this relates - yes i am aware of guitar stuff after a google.

      I would genuinely appreciate a disambiguation.

      Dante

      icon for me

      1. that one in the corner Silver badge
        Terminator

        Re: Apologies -reference?

        Dante,

        Asking honest questions should never be a problem: the first step on the path to knowledge and wisdom is the phrase "I don't know - yet!".

        In the original Terminator film, we are clearly shown that Arnie (see the icon) is coded in 6502 assembler, complete with comments, running on bare[1] metal without an OS.

        Now, we are presented with an AI called ERNIE[0] that is presented as running without an OS, because that is a New[2] Paradigm[3]

        [0] Arnie, ERNIE; ERNIE, Arnie; ah ha ha ha - just like that.

        [1] especially after he walks out of the fire

        [2] huh? New? When Metal Arnie appeared none[4] of our home computers had an OS, as has been mentioned.

        [3] I still prefer armadillos

        [4] oh, you had CP/M at home did you? Pah. MP/M or it still isn't a OS!

  2. Paul Crawford Silver badge

    But can it beat the fastest milkman in the west?

    1. Giles C Silver badge

      or choose the winning premium bonds?

    2. Richard 12 Silver badge

      Or dodge a stale pork pie?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Stale Pork Pies

        And will a competitor come up with a Two Ton Ted from Teddington? (at least, I think that was it - it was a long time ago and I can't be bothered to google)

        Poor Ernie.

        Electronic Random Number Indicating Equipment.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Stale Pork Pies

          Two bun Ted ...

  3. xyz123 Silver badge

    It's China.

    Fake chatbot with thousands of human operators (slaves) actually responding to some prompts to make the chatbot look good.

    1. that one in the corner Silver badge

      So, far better chance of getting an accurate answer from it, then. And with a lot less lip, as well.

  4. Michael Wojcik Silver badge

    Models as a service?

    Michael Chrichton got there first.

    (I haven't seen that in years. Should look to see if it's available on any of our streaming services. Or maybe the library has it on DVD.)

    1. that one in the corner Silver badge

      Re: Models as a service?

      L.O.O.K.E.R.

      Not Mr Crichton's finest hour. To quote from Wikipedia, quoting one of The Names attached to it: James Coburn later said "My part was pretty much on the cutting room floor. They really pissed that film away. They had Albert Finney running around in a security guard's uniform throughout the film. It didn’t make any sense."

      IMO[1] if you have fond memories of that film from younger days, don't spoil them by watching it again! Instead, watch Coburn in "Our Man Flint" or "The Magnificent Seven", Finney in "Cold Lazarus", "The Dresser" or even "Annie".

      (And for some reason, the book "Interface" by Neal Stephenson springs to mind when I think of Looker)

POST COMMENT House rules

Not a member of The Register? Create a new account here.

  • Enter your comment

  • Add an icon

Anonymous cowards cannot choose their icon

Other stories you might like