Baidu Inc. plunged its most in more than a year after a report linked its Ernie AI platform to key military research, spurring concerns about retaliation from Washington.
The search engine firm, generally considered one of China’s leaders in artificial intelligence development, fell 11.5% Monday despite publicly denying the relationship. Traders in Hong Kong cited a South China Morning Post report about how a university affiliated with the People’s Liberation Army’s Strategic Support Force — which oversees cyberwarfare — had tested its AI system on Baidu’s ChatGPT-like Ernie.
Baidu on Monday denied any affiliation or partnership with the institute. But the report about the hook-up with the PLA raised concerns that Washington may consider imposing sanctions on Chinese firms to curtail such collaboration, as part of efforts to contain its geopolitical rival.
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Curated by Arun