Qwen, a large-scale language model developed by Alibaba Cloud, has begun interacting with the mapping service Gaode. Alibaba said in a statement that Qwen now has the ability to “understand and act on the physical world“.
The AI model is connected to a large-scale real-time geographic data system. The Qwen app can provide users with visual maps with recommendations for restaurants, hotels and other places with transportation options. The smart assistant analyzes user reviews of restaurants, weather conditions, traffic jams and other data, then creates optimal routes and recommendations.
In November, Alibaba Cloud launched a free app – virtual assistant based on its large language model Qwen. The chatbot can talk to the user and perform various tasks like a personal assistant with artificial intelligence. The developer positions the service as a competitor to ChatGPT.
Gaode is one of the largest mapping and navigation services in China, a subsidiary of the Chinese corporation Alibaba.
In February, Alibaba, the parent company of Alibaba Cloud, announced that it would invest 380 billion yuan (approximately 52 billion USD) over 3 years in building cloud platforms and infrastructure for artificial intelligence.
China is experiencing explosive development in the field of artificial intelligence. Industry leaders include Alibaba, Baidu, DeepSeek, Moonshot AI, Tencent, and Zhipu AI.