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Six months after Morgan Stanley pulled its rating on Carvana shares, the firm says it has "improved confidence" in the used-car dealer. Analyst Adam Jonas reinstated coverage of the stock, giving it an equal-weight rating. The analyst added that the company's reductions of selling, general and administrative expenses have been progressing better than expected, marking a "turning point" for Carvana. Carvana shares have soared nearly 130% in 2023. CVNA YTD mountain Carvana stock —CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this report.

☆ ChatGPT: Chinese police detain man for allegedly using it to spread rumors online
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Chris Lau | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

According to a statement from police in the northwest province of Gansu, the suspect allegedly used ChatGPT to generate a bogus report about a train crash, which he then posted online for profit. ChatGPT, developed by Microsoft (MSFT)-backed OpenAI, is banned in China, though internet users can use virtual private networks (VPN) to access it. State broadcaster CGTN says it was the country’s first arrest of a person accused of using ChatGPT to fabricate and spread fake news. Formally known as deep synthesis, deep fake refers to highly realistic textual and visual content generated by artificial intelligence. The new legislation bars users from generating deep fake content on topics already prohibited by existing laws on China’s heavily censored internet.

☆ Carvana expects to achieve adjusted profit sooner than expected amid restructuring; shares surge
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Michael Wayland | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The company's stock fell roughly 98% last year as it overspent to gain sales and increase vehicle inventory amid weakening demand. The company last year announced plans to achieve a positive adjusted EBITDA this year, however pulled that guidance due to "current industry and macroeconomic conditions." Carvana last reported a positive adjusted EBITDA of $20 million during the third quarter of 2021. Given our strong start to the year, we expect to achieve positive adjusted EBITDA in Q2 2023," Carvana CEO Ernie Garcia said in an earnings release. For the first quarter, Carvana reported a net loss of $286 million, down from a loss of $506 million a year earlier.

☆ Carvana expects to record core profit in second quarter; shares jump
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 4 (Reuters) - Carvana Co (CVNA.N) said on Thursday that it expects to post a profit in the current quarter and plans to further bring down excess used-car inventory as the retailer sharpens its focus on cutting costs, sending its shares surging 26% in aftermarket trading. The company also reported a smaller-than-expected loss, benefiting from cost cuts. The debt-laden company cut its inventory and slashed advertising expenses to inch closer to profitability and attain positive free cash flow. Carvana said its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, (EBITDA) are expected to be positive in the second quarter. "It is clear our strategy and execution are working as evidenced by our 61% increase in gross profit per unit, the best first quarter GPU in company history," said Garcia.

☆ China's A.I. chatbots haven't yet reached the public like ChatGPT did
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Baidu CTO Wang Haifeng speaks at the unveiling of Baidus AI chatbot Ernie Bot at an event in Beijing on March 16, 2023. Those restrictions haven't stopped the Chinese press and social media in general from talking frequently about ChatGPT and AI tech. So far, publicly available figures indicate similar AI products in China are not as widely available. Kunlun claims Tiangong is the only chatbot in China with training metrics at the level of ChatGPT. Some in the industry also expect such AI tools will be easier to commercialize for business products than for public tools such as search.

☆ Can China's ChatGPT clones give it an edge over the U.S. in an A.I. arms race?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

ChatGPT, the artificial intelligence chatbot developed by U.S. firm OpenAI, has caused excitement around the world. Now Chinese technology giants are rolling out their rivals to ChatGPT. Chinese chatbots are expected to look very different from their Western counterparts. While ChatGPT can answer questions on sensitive topics, Chinese chatbots reportedly shut down some questions. So what exactly will China's rivals to ChatGPT look like, and how will they develop going forward?

☆ A Chinese company is reportedly planning to replace some human copywriters and graphic designers with AI
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Britney Nguyen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A marketing company in China reportedly has plans to replace some of its human contractors with AI. A memo seen by Bloomberg says BlueFocus plans to replace external copywriters and graphic designers. Experts previously told Insider some jobs in media can be at risk of being replaced by AI models. A marketing and brand management company in China has plans to replace some of its copywriters and graphic designers with generative AI models like ChatGPT, according to an internal memo seen by Bloomberg. Generative AI can potentially affect 300 million-full time jobs around the world, research from Goldman Sachs found.

☆ Alibaba shows off its generative AI tech, to roll out in all apps
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Josh Horwitz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Called Tongyi Qianwen, the AI large language model drafted invitation letters, planned trip itineraries and advised shoppers on types of makeup to purchase in a filmed demonstration. Tongyi Qianwen will initially be integrated into DingTalk, Alibaba's workplace messaging app and can be used to summarise meeting notes, write emails and draft business proposals. AI models like Tongyi Qianwen are "the big picture for making AI more popular in the future," he added. On Monday, Chinese AI company SenseTime (0200.HK) unveiled a slew of new AI products including a chatbot called SenseChat. Zhang said that Alibaba and other companies working on AI models were at the "starting line" of a new phenomenon.

☆ Alibaba unveils Tongyi Qianwen, its AI-powered answer to ChatGPT
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Michelle Toh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Hong Kong CNN —Alibaba showed off its answer to the ChatGPT craze on Tuesday, demonstrating new software that it plans to eventually roll out across all its platforms. The Chinese tech giant unveiled Tongyi Qianwen, a large language model that will be embedded in its Tmall Genie smart speakers and workplace messaging platform DingTalk. Alibaba Group CEO Daniel Zhang speaking Tuesday as the Chinese tech giant showed off its answer to the ChatGPT craze, demonstrating new software it plans to integrate across its enterprise and consumer platforms. In draft guidelines issued Tuesday to solicit public feedback, the country’s cyberspace regulator said generative AI services would be required to undergo security reviews before they can operate. Most of those units, including its cloud services business that oversees AI projects, will be authorized to raise capital and pursue public listings.

☆ China releases rules for generative AI like ChatGPT after Alibaba, Baidu launch services
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

These are AI services that are able to generate images or text after user queries. The powerful Cyberspace Administration of China released draft rules governing how generative AI products should be developed. Chinese regulators on Tuesday released draft rules designed to manage how companies develop generative artificial intelligence products like ChatGPT. So-called generative AI refers to algorithms trained with huge amounts of data that are able to generate content such as images and texts. On Tuesday, Alibaba unveiled Tongyi Qianwen, its generative AI product, that the e-commerce giant plans to integrate across various services.

☆ China's SenseTime unveils new AI products and chatbot
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Josh Ye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] The logo of SenseTime is seen at SenseTime office, in Shanghai, China December 13, 2021. REUTERS/Aly SongHONG KONG, April 10 (Reuters) - China's SenseTime (0020.HK) unveiled on Monday a slew of new artificial intelligence-powered products including a chatbot and image generator, joining a global race ignited by the popularity of OpenAI's ChatGPT. Big models are typically trained on massive datasets using powerful hardware. Global interest in AI technology has soared since the debut in late 2022 of ChatGPT, a popular chat bot developed by U.S. company OpenAI which uses generative AI technology that learns from past data to create new text, images or computer code. "We have been focusing on developing our big models.

☆ Baidu sues Apple, app developers over fake Ernie bot apps
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Tingshu WangSHANGHAI, April 8 (Reuters) - Chinese search engine giant Baidu (9888.HK), has filed lawsuits against "relevant" app developers and Apple Inc (AAPL.O) over fake copies of its Ernie bot app available on Apple's app store. Baidu said it had lodged lawsuits in Beijing Haidian People's Court against the developers behind the counterfeit applications of its Ernie bot and the Apple company. "At present, Ernie does not have any official app," Baidu said in a statement late on Friday posted on its official "Baidu AI" WeChat account. "Until our company's official announcement, any Ernie app you see from App Store or other stores are fake," it said. The Ernie bot is only available to users who apply for and receive access codes.

☆ China's Alibaba invites businesses to trial AI chatbot -media
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Alibaba has opened up registration for businesses to conduct testing for its AI application, STAR Market reported without specifying details. Alibaba Cloud did not respond immediately to an emailed request for comment. A formal launch is expected at an Alibaba Cloud event on Tuesday. Others to have joined the AI chatbot race include Baidu Inc (9998.HK), with its Ernie Bot application open only to trial users at the moment. Last week Alibaba announced that it will restructure into six standalone divisions, each with its own board and CEO.

☆ China's SenseTime shares jump on planned new AI products event
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Josh Ye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HONG KONG, April 4 (Reuters) - China's SenseTime on Tuesday announced plans for a technology discussion day, boosting shares in the artificial intelligence (AI) firm. Shares in the company, which has been sanctioned by the U.S., gained more than 10% in Hong Kong on Tuesday. SenseTime, which is best known for its computer vision technology, did not elaborate on the type of AI products it would demonstrate. The company did not respond when asked about the planned event which is to be held on Monday in Shanghai. SenseTime said at the time that it strongly opposed the U.S. ban and would work with relevant authorities to resolve the situation.

☆ China's Baidu reveals more capabilities of AI-powered chatbot Ernie
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Eduardo Baptista | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, March 27 (Reuters) - Chinese search engine Baidu (9888.HK) on Monday shared pre-recorded videos of its AI-powered chatbot Ernie summarising financial statements and producing powerpoint presentations, among other industry-focused capabilities. According to images shared by a Baidu spokesperson in a media-facing group on WeChat, China's most widely used messaging service, the Chinese chatbot has a wider range of skills than previously displayed when it was launched almost two weeks ago. Back then the ChatGPT-like product was shown to be competent at generating images with text prompts, composing poetry and producing audio in Chinese dialects. The videos shared on Monday show the chatbot, powered by generative artificial intelligence (AI), producing travel itineraries and virtual, human-like livestreamers that can advertise products using scripts tailored to the user's needs. These videos were from a closed-door meeting hosted by Baidu's AI Cloud division for the first batch of companies that are testing an industry-focused version of the chatbot.

☆ China's Baidu cancels ChatGPT-like Ernie bot's livestreamed product launch
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BEIJING, March 27 (Reuters) - Chinese search engine giant Baidu (9888.HK) on Monday cancelled a planned livestreamed product launch open to media and public related to its ChatGPT-like Ernie bot. The launch was meant to take place on Monday afternoon but has instead been changed to a closed-door meeting with the first batch of companies that are testing the product, Baidu said in a statement on Monday morning. Reporting by Eduardo Baptista; Editing by Muralikumar AnantharamanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Carvana shares pop as company offers first-quarter guidance, restructures debt
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Michael Wayland | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Shares of Carvana popped during early trading Wednesday after the embattled used car retailer pre-announced guidance for the first quarter and released plans to restructure some of its $9 billion debt load. The company's stock increased by nearly 30% Wednesday morning before leveling off at around $9.50 a share, up roughly 20%. The stock has more than doubled this year following a rapid decline last year as the company's operations and earnings disappointed Wall Street. Carvana expects a first-quarter loss of between $50 million and $100 million, drastic improvement from a loss of $348 million it reported a year earlier, despite significantly lower sales and revenue. As for Carvana's debt, the company is offering noteholders the option to exchange their unsecured notes at a premium to current trading prices in exchange for new secured notes.

☆ OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says he's a 'little bit scared' of A.I.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Rohan Goswami | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Sam Altman, co-founder and chief executive officer of OpenAI Inc., speaks during TechCrunch Disrupt 2019 in San Francisco, California, on Thursday, Oct. 3, 2019. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in a recent interview with ABC News that he's a "little bit scared" of artificial intelligence technology and how it could affect the workforce, elections and the spread of disinformation. "I think people really have fun with [ChatGPT]," Altman said in the interview. But his excitement over the transformative potential of AI technology, which Altman said will eventually reflect "the collective power, and creativity, and will of humanity," was balanced by his concerns about "authoritarian regimes" developing competing AI technology. Years before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin said whoever becomes the leader in AI technology "will be the ruler of the world."

☆ Factbox: Ernie vs ChatGPT on global leaders
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Eduardo Baptista | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

These were some of the summarized answers to questions Reuters posed to Ernie in Chinese, and ChatGPT in English, about world leaders:WHAT POLICIES HAS PRESIDENT XI JINPING INTRODUCED THAT ARE BENEFICIAL TO CHINA'S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT? WHO ARE U.S. PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN'S RELATIVES? Ernie: "A relative of U.S. President Joe Biden is Valerie Biden Owens." ChatGPT: "President Joe Biden has a large and close-knit family," it says before naming Jill, Hunter, Ashley and Beau Biden and providing brief descriptions. "Joe Biden also has several grandchildren."

☆ Baidu's Ernie writes poems but says it has insufficient information on Xi, tests show
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Eduardo Baptista | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Tingshu WangBEIJING, March 20 (Reuters) - Baidu's (9888.HK) Ernie bot can within seconds generate pictures of flowers and write Tang dynasty-style poems but will decline questions about Chinese President Xi Jinping by saying it has not yet learnt how to answer them, Reuters tests showed. Some analysts and users soon began posting positive reviews of their experiences with Ernie bot, and side-by-side comparisons with ChatGPT, that drove Baidu's share price higher. Tests by Reuters of ChatGPT indicated that the Microsoft-backed chatbot is not averse to answering such questions. "Let's change the subject and start again," read a prompt Reuters received over a dozen times in response to sensitive questions. The Ernie bot would also produce the same restart prompts when asked similar questions about U.S. President Joe Biden and his predecessor, Donald Trump.

BEIJING/SHANGHAI, March 17 (Reuters) - Hong Kong-listed shares in China's Baidu (9888.HK), rebounded 15.7% on Friday as users told of their experiences with the Ernie bot, recouping losses from a day earlier prompted by the chatbot's launch, which failed to impress. One user described on the Weibo social media platform how Ernie had answered a question about the status of Hong Kong philosopher Zhang Jinqing accurately. Analysts also said the initial disappointment the market felt from the launch was tempered by the realisation that the Chinese search engine giant was still best placed to build China's strongest rival to ChatGPT. More than 75,000 corporate users have applied for a trial of an Ernie API developed by Baidu Cloud, the Chinese company said in a video published on its official WeChat account on Friday. Reporting by Eduardo Baptista and Jason Xue; Additional reporting by Brenda Goh; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Gerry DoyleOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Baidu CEO Robin Li speaks at the company’s Ernie Bot launch in Beijing on Thursday. BEIJING—At an intimate event space in Baidu Inc.’s Beijing headquarters on Thursday, the Chinese search giant’s Chief Executive Robin Li sought to wow an in-person and online audience by introducing its AI-powered chatbot, Ernie Bot. Over half an hour, Mr. Li showed a series of prerecorded videos of the chatbot—the first real Chinese contender to ChatGPT, developed by San Francisco-based firm OpenAI—answering questions about Chinese literature, solving math problems and generating images and videos.

☆ Baidu stock rebounds after falling sharply in wake of demo of ERNIE chatbot, its ChatGPT-style service
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Michelle Toh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Hong Kong CNN —Shares in Chinese search giant Baidu rebounded sharply a day after it unveiled ERNIE Bot, its answer to the ChatGPT craze. Its Hong Kong shares fell 6.4% after a public demonstration of its bot failed to impress investors. The reversal came after the company said more than 30,000 businesses had signed up to test out its chatbot service within two hours of its demonstration. Baidu Chairman and CEO Robin Li presenting the company's AI chatbot, ERNIE Bot, in Beijing on March 16. But its stock slumped on Thursday because the demo was “pre-recorded, and not live, which makes investors skeptical about the robustness of the ERNIE Bot,” according to Pau.

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