So Long, GPT-5. Hello, Qwen (www.wired.com)

Rokid, a Chinese startup, is gaining attention for its smart glasses that utilize Qwen, a large open-weight language model developed by Alibaba. While Qwen may not match the leading US models like OpenAI's GPT-5 on traditional benchmarking tests, its open-source nature and ease of modification have made it increasingly popular among developers and users. According to HuggingFace, downloads of Chinese open-source models, including Qwen, surpassed those of US models earlier this year. Qwen’s versatility allows it to perform a wide range of tasks, making it suitable for various applications, such as product recognition and navigation assistance. The rise of Qwen coincides with a period of underwhelming performance from some prominent US models, leading many developers to seek alternatives. The openness of Chinese firms in sharing findings and engineering advancements starkly contrasts with the more guarded approach of American companies. Notably, hundreds of academic papers utilizing Qwen were presented at NeurIPS, highlighting its significance in the AI research community. As companies like BYD and Airbnb integrate Qwen into their services, it signals a shift towards the utility and widespread application of AI models, emphasizing that impact may be as crucial a metric as performance in advancing AI technology.