The Race for AI Supremacy: A Peek into the Lives of Alibaba and OpenAI Researchers

In the realm of artificial intelligence, a fierce competition is unfolding between tech giants on both sides of the Pacific. Alibaba, a Chinese e-commerce behemoth, is among the many companies striving to match the prowess of ChatGPT, the groundbreaking language model developed by OpenAI.

A recent post on X by Binyuan Hui, a researcher at Alibaba’s Qwen, offers a rare glimpse into the life of an AI researcher at the company. His daily schedule mirrors that of Jason Wei, an OpenAI researcher, revealing striking similarities in their work routines.

Both Hui and Wei start their day at 9 a.m. and work until 1 a.m., dedicating countless hours to meetings, coding, model training, and brainstorming with colleagues. Even after returning home, they continue to experiment and ponder ways to enhance their models late into the night.

While their work ethic is comparable, their leisure activities differ. Hui spends his free time reading research papers and browsing X to stay updated on global developments. In contrast, Wei enjoys a glass of wine after work.

This intense work regime is prevalent in China’s LLM (Large Language Model) space, where top university graduates flock to tech companies to build competitive AI models. Hui’s demanding schedule reflects a personal drive to match, if not surpass, Silicon Valley companies in the AI arena.

Renowned AI investor Kai-Fu Lee also exemplifies this dedication. During an interview, Lee revealed that his employees willingly work late hours, driven by the urgency of their mission. One staff member even messaged him at 2:15 a.m. to express excitement about being part of the company’s journey.

Alibaba’s Qwen team has made significant strides in developing LLMs, releasing a series of foundation models trained with both English and Chinese data. The largest of these models boasts 72 billion parameters, demonstrating its ability to generate contextually relevant responses.

The team has also been quick to introduce commercial applications, integrating Qwen into Alibaba’s enterprise communication platform Dingtalk and online retailer Tmall.

While no clear leader has emerged in China’s LLM space, Alibaba is carving out a niche with its multilingual approach. In December, the company launched SeaLLM, an LLM capable of processing information in several Southeast Asian languages. This move could become a selling point, given Alibaba’s strong presence in the region through its cloud computing business and acquisition of Lazada.

The race for AI supremacy continues, with Alibaba and other Chinese tech companies determined to narrow the gap with OpenAI. As they push the boundaries of AI, the world watches with anticipation, eager to witness the next breakthroughs in this rapidly evolving field.