ByteDance CEO Warns of Complacency and AI Lag
During a recent company-wide meeting in Singapore, ByteDance CEO Liang Rubo expressed concerns about the company’s potential complacency and highlighted its lag in embracing artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. The meeting, watched globally by ByteDance employees, revealed insights into the challenges the company faces amid rapid expansion.
Liang acknowledged that ByteDance’s swift growth had resulted in decreased efficiency. He specifically pointed out a lack of attention to AI technology, noting that discussions about Generative Pre-trained Transformers (GPT) didn’t surface in their tech reviews until 2023, despite GPT-1 being released in 2018. GPT is renowned for its human-like accuracy and is a key component in OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot.
ByteDance Algorithmic Leadership and AI Race
While ByteDance is recognized as a leader in algorithms, powering popular apps like TikTok and Toutiao, Liang ByteDance CEO stressed the company’s sluggish response to the ongoing AI advancements reshaping the tech sector. ByteDance’s delayed entry into AI foundation models became apparent, with Liang highlighting that other companies had developed superior models between 2018 and 2021.
Liang expressed concerns about internal red tape hindering ByteDance’s agility. He highlighted a stark contrast, where projects that take six months at ByteDance could be completed by startups in just one month. The ByteDance CEO emphasized the need for ByteDance to become more responsive and adaptable in the face of emerging competition.
Acknowledging the prowess of startup teams in swiftly identifying industry trends, Liang noted that such teams excel in spotting new projects on platforms like GitHub. He emphasized the importance of ByteDance being more attuned to industry developments to explore timely acquisition or partnership opportunities.
ByteDance has recently redirected its focus towards AI, discontinuing certain businesses like video games. The company has experimented with AI-powered chatbots such as “Doubao” in China and “Cici” and “ChitChop” internationally. However, ByteDance’s AI strategy faced scrutiny following reports of its use of OpenAI’s technology, leading to OpenAI suspending ByteDance’s account pending an investigation, despite ByteDance asserting the legality of its usage.
Read More AI – Tech Foom
