Students leave the gaokao exam in Nanjing in June under a banner that reads “Win top marks.”
Su Yang/Xinhua via Getty Images
After taking part in China’s grueling national college entrance exam, Guo Xinyan has three weeks to make what could be the most important decision of her life: which universities and programs she should apply to. The 18-year-old turned to an AI chatbot for help.
On AlibabaiAlibabaAlibaba, founded in 1999 by Chinese entrepreneur Jack Ma, is one of the most prominent global e-commerce companies that operates platforms like AliExpress, Taobao, and Tmall.READ MORE’s chatbot Qwen, Guo entered her score, where she ranked in her home province of Shandong, her desired major (law, accounting, or finance), her budget for tuition (moderate), and where she wants to live (coastal cities). The bot generated a report with dozens of choices.
“My family and I have no experience with college applications, so we had to rely on social media and AI,” Guo told Rest of World, adding that her parents had asked ByteDanceiByteDanceByteDance is a Chinese internet technology company that owns TikTok and Douyin, a Chinese version of TikTok with a successful e-commerce arm.READ MORE’s Doubao to suggest college programs for her. “There’s nothing in particular I want to study. We are just looking for good career prospects.”
