Alibaba's newest AI model is capable of reading users' emotions

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. has announced the release of its latest AI model, R1-Omni, which is designed to read and interpret human emotions. This new model is part of Alibaba’s ongoing efforts to establish itself as an AI industry leader and compete with OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

The R1-Omni model, developed by Alibaba’s Tongyi Lab, enhances computer vision technology by allowing it to infer individuals’ emotional states from videos.

In demonstrations, the AI model could describe people’s emotions, clothing, and surroundings. This model builds on a previous open-source model, HumanOmni, created by Jiaxing Zhao, the same lead researcher.

Alibaba’s push into emotional intelligence AI is seen as a strategic move to outpace competitors like OpenAI. The company has made the R1-Omni model available for free on the Hugging Face platform, making it accessible to many users. This move contrasts OpenAI’s GPT-4.5 model, available only to premium subscribers for $200 per month.

The Hangzhou-based tech giant has expanded its AI capabilities, including securing a significant partnership with Apple to bring AI features to iPhones in China.

Alibaba’s CEO, Eddie Wu, has emphasized that achieving artificial general intelligence is the company’s primary objective, with emotional intelligence being a key step toward that goal.

Via Bloomberg.