A number of Chinese tech giants, including ByteDance Ltd. and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., have officially suspended features that allow users to create and customize their own artificial intelligence (AI) personas. This policy was taken in response to new regulations from the Beijing government tightening supervision over AI services that interact in a human-like manner.
Doubao, ByteDance's AI chatbot app with the largest user base in China, is scheduled to disable persona customization features on July 15. Users will subsequently be redirected to use another standalone companion app. Similar steps were also taken by Alibaba through its AI service, Qwen, as well as Tencent Holdings Ltd. via its Yuanbao platform in response to the new policy.
These preventive measures were taken by tech companies following strict rules set to take effect in mid-July. The Chinese government highlighted the potential risks posed by AI capable of mimicking human personality, emotion, and meotional closeness. The government is concerned that attachment formed between users and AI bots could lead to unwanted consequences.
The regulation, first announced in April, underscores Beijing's commitment to controlling the direction of AI development to keep it within legal boundaries. Tech companies are now required to make operational adjustments to ensure their services comply with ethical and data security boundaries set by relevant authorities.
