Technology

As AI Competition Intensifies, Companies in the Nation Focus on Lightweight Large Language Models

Published

1 year ago

March 11, 2024

As US-based technology company OpenAI released a text-to-video model, Sora, last month, raising the stakes in the global AI race, more Chinese enterprises are creating lightweight large language models.

A smaller large model, sometimes referred to as a lightweight model, is essentially one that needs fewer parameters. In comparison to large models, this implies that their ability to process and produce text will be restricted.

To put it simply, these compact models are similar to these large models, which are similar to luxury sport utility vehicles.

The Chinese AI startup ModelBest Inc. garnered significant attention in the industry in February when it unveiled its most recent lightweight large model.

Called MiniCPM-2B, the model has an embedded capacity of 2 billion parameters, a far smaller number than the 1.7 trillion parameters that OpenAI’s massive GPT-4.0 can process.

With 2.7 billion parameters, Phi-2 is a tiny language model that can understand language and make common sense decisions. It was released in December by the US tech giant Microsoft.

The new model performs similarly to the Mistral-7B from the French AI company Mistral on publicly available general benchmarks, according to ModelBest CEO Li Dahai. However, Mistral’s model performs better in arithmetic, coding, and Chinese. Li said that with parameters at the 10-billion level, its overall performance outperforms some peer large models.

“Both large and smaller large models have their advantages, depending on the specific requirements of a task and their constraints, but Chinese companies may find a way out to leverage small models amid an AI boom,” Li added.

In an earlier interview, Zhou Hongyi, the founder and chairman of 360 Security Technology and a participant in the current two sessions of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, stated that it might be difficult to develop a large model that is universal and better than GPT-4.0 at this time.

According to him, GPT-4.0 “knows everything, it is not specialized” at this point.

“If we can excel in a particular business domain by training a model with unique business data and integrating it with many business tools within that sector, such a model will not only have intelligence, but also possess unique knowledge, even hands and feet,” he explained.

According to Li, there will be significant commercial value for such a lightweight model if it can be implemented in various industries.

“If the model is compressed, it will require fewer calculations to operate, which also means less powerful processors and less time to complete responses,” Li explained.

“With the popularity of such end-side models, the inference cost of more electronic devices, such as mobile phones, will further decrease in the future,” he stated.

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Microsoft Expands Copilot Voice and Think Deeper

Published

2 months ago

February 25, 2025

Archana Suryawanshi

Microsoft Expands Copilot Voice and Think Deeper

Microsoft is taking a major step forward by offering unlimited access to Copilot Voice and Think Deeper, marking two years since the AI-powered Copilot was first integrated into Bing search. This update comes shortly after the tech giant revamped its Copilot Pro subscription and bundled advanced AI features into Microsoft 365.

What’s Changing?

Microsoft remains committed to its $20 per month Copilot Pro plan, ensuring that subscribers continue to enjoy premium benefits. According to the company, Copilot Pro users will receive:

Preferred access to the latest AI models during peak hours.
Early access to experimental AI features, with more updates expected soon.
Extended use of Copilot within popular Microsoft 365 apps like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

The Impact on Users

This move signals Microsoft’s dedication to enhancing AI-driven productivity tools. By expanding access to Copilot’s powerful features, users can expect improved efficiency, smarter assistance, and seamless integration across Microsoft’s ecosystem.

As AI technology continues to evolve, Microsoft is positioning itself at the forefront of innovation, ensuring both casual users and professionals can leverage the best AI tools available.

Stay tuned for further updates as Microsoft rolls out more enhancements to its AI offerings.

Technology

Google Launches Free AI Coding Tool for Individual Developers

Published

2 months ago

February 25, 2025

Archana Suryawanshi

Google Launches Free AI Coding Tool for Individual Developers

Google has introduced a free version of Gemini Code Assistant, its AI-powered coding assistant, for solo developers worldwide. The tool, previously available only to enterprise users, is now in public preview, making advanced AI-assisted coding accessible to students, freelancers, hobbyists, and startups.

More Features, Fewer Limits

Unlike competing tools such as GitHub Copilot, which limits free users to 2,000 code completions per month, Google is offering up to 180,000 code completions—a significantly higher cap designed to accommodate even the most active developers.

“Now anyone can easily learn, generate code snippets, debug, and modify applications without switching between multiple windows,” said Ryan J. Salva, Google’s senior director of product management.

AI-Powered Coding Assistance

Gemini Code Assist for individuals is powered by Google’s Gemini 2.0 AI model and offers:
Auto-completion of code while typing
Generation of entire code blocks based on prompts
Debugging assistance via an interactive chatbot

The tool integrates with popular developer environments like Visual Studio Code, GitHub, and JetBrains, supporting a wide range of programming languages. Developers can use natural language prompts, such as:
“Create an HTML form with fields for name, email, and message, plus a submit button.”

With support for 38 programming languages and a 128,000-token memory for processing complex prompts, Gemini Code Assist provides a robust AI-driven coding experience.

Enterprise Features Still Require a Subscription

While the free tier is generous, advanced features like productivity analytics, Google Cloud integrations, and custom AI tuning remain exclusive to paid Standard and Enterprise plans.

With this move, Google aims to compete more aggressively in the AI coding assistant market, offering developers a powerful and unrestricted alternative to existing tools.

Technology

Elon Musk Unveils Grok-3: A Game-Changing AI Chatbot to Rival ChatGPT

Published

2 months ago

February 19, 2025

Archana Suryawanshi

Elon Musk Unveils Grok-3: A Game-Changing AI Chatbot to Rival ChatGPT

Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI has unveiled its latest chatbot, Grok-3, which aims to compete with leading AI models such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and China’s DeepSeek. Grok-3 is now available to Premium+ subscribers on Musk’s social media platform x (formerly Twitter) and is also available through xAI’s mobile app and the new SuperGrok subscription tier on Grok.com.

Advanced capabilities and performance

Grok-3 has ten times the computing power of its predecessor, Grok-2. Initial tests show that Grok-3 outperforms models from OpenAI, Google, and DeepSeek, particularly in areas such as math, science, and coding. The chatbot features advanced reasoning features capable of decomposing complex questions into manageable tasks. Users can interact with Grok-3 in two different ways: “Think,” which performs step-by-step reasoning, and “Big Brain,” which is designed for more difficult tasks.

Strategic Investments and Infrastructure

To support the development of Grok-3, xAI has made major investments in its supercomputer cluster, Colossus, which is currently the largest globally. This infrastructure underscores the company’s commitment to advancing AI technology and maintaining a competitive edge in the industry.

New Offerings and Future Plans

Along with Grok-3, xAI has also introduced a logic-based chatbot called DeepSearch, designed to enhance research, brainstorming, and data analysis tasks. This tool aims to provide users with more insightful and relevant information. Looking to the future, xAI plans to release Grok-2 as an open-source model, encouraging community participation and further development. Additionally, upcoming improvements for Grok-3 include a synthesized voice feature, which aims to improve user interaction and accessibility.

Market position and competition

The launch of Grok-3 positions xAI as a major competitor in the AI chatbot market, directly challenging established models from OpenAI and emerging competitors such as DeepSeek. While Grok-3’s performance claims are yet to be independently verified, early indications suggest it could have a significant impact on the AI landscape. xAI is actively seeking $10 billion in investment from major companies, demonstrating its strong belief in their technological advancements and market potential.