GigaChat to take on ChatGPT: Russia’s rival to OpenAI chatbot aims to be a multimodal tool

OpenAI’s AI invention ChatGPT is clearly keeping tech titans and governments around the world up at night. Sberbank, a Russian lender, is the most recent to be on board with AI-powered solutions. As a competitor to OpenAI’s amazing ChatGPT, the business just presented its chatbot GigaChat.GigaChat is presently only available via invitation-only testing.

The capacity of GigaChat to talk fluently and intelligently in Russian, according to the organization, is its most distinctive characteristic compared to other global neural networks. According to reports, when Western countries reduced their exports to Russia and imposed sanctions in the aftermath of the Ukraine conflict, Sberbank has been significantly investing in technology. This is considered as Russia’s attempt to reduce its reliance on imports. And the most recent chatbot is the result of this turmoil.

Regarding banking and financial services, the state-owned bank is one of the most popular options among ordinary Russians. It is also one of the country’s oldest banks, having been founded in 1841.

According to reports, the bank has 30% of all Russian savings and loans. Sberbank is now Russia’s largest financial institution and is trying to become the country’s technological leader. GigaChat is the company’s most recent invention as part of its digital transformation strategy? Previously, the bank made headlines for investing in various technology ventures, from self-driving cars to cloud services.

What can GigaChat do?

GigaChat, according to multiple accounts, can answer inquiries, have discussions, create computer code to develop software, and even make graphics. Sberbank’s tool has been trained in Russian, and the institution says that it includes multimodal characteristics, giving it an advantage over ChatGPT, which is now confined to text.

The primary difference between GigaChat and its competitors is that it allows Russians to utilize the AI chatbot in Russian. The chatbot, however, is not prepared to maintain extended discussions.

Sberbank said to rely on GigaChat’s picture-generating capabilities, which are currently led by OpenAI’s DALL-E image generator. According to reports, GigaChat was created as a multimodal tool with the potential to include video, audio, and other features in the future.

It should be mentioned that the Russian IT industry is not unfamiliar with AI and its innovations. Russian hackers have used AI for content and deep fakes in recent years. Some Russian media outlets and businesses have also used deep fakes in their advertisements.

Russia’s tiff with ChatGPT

ChatGPT is not yet available in Russia. This is due to the country’s increasing concern over its possible abuse. The country has been on high alert and is engaged in an indirect conflict with Western powers. Following the ongoing, Russia has distanced itself from OpenAI’s chatbot, stating that it is not in a position to allow AI to take over the narrative.