中国人工智能浪潮为企业提供了控制成本的新途径

内容来源:https://aibusiness.com/generative-ai/chinese-ai-invasion-gives-enterprises-new-way-control-cost
内容总结:
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至少从表面上看,开放权重模型比美国专有模型便宜得多。
你可以在笔记本电脑上运行中国AI模型。这些模型功能强大、性能出色、需求旺盛,并且有助于解决一个商业问题:AI token支出。
这正在改变AI服务的经济格局,并给前沿模型带来竞争压力。
Anthropic在周一发布的IPO招股书中表示,随着各类模型日益丰富,“客户可能会认为,前沿模型的增量性能提升不足以证明额外成本是合理的。”
截至10月25日当周,据OpenRouter全球统计,中国AI模型占该平台报告token总量的半数以上。大约一年前,该网站每周使用量榜单上列出的九个模型中,仅有一个中国模型。OpenRouter通过单一API提供对多种AI模型的访问。
开源企业软件提供商红帽正在内部试用GLM的自托管版本,这是北京智谱AI推出的开放权重模型。中国科技巨头阿里巴巴广受欢迎的Qwen模型也可在较小规模上使用。
红帽杰出工程师兼CTO办公室副总裁Stephen Watt表示,工程师们起初担心开放权重模型是否能与专有前沿模型同样强大,但他们发现这些模型“足够好用”。
Watt称,主要来自中国的开放权重模型在某些用例中已达到与Anthropic的Opus 4.6相当的效果水平。他说工程师们对放弃前沿模型有所顾虑,但红帽的使用数据显示,开放权重模型足以胜任许多任务。
“在AI之旅的起点不用前沿模型,你是疯了;但过一段时间还留在上面,你也是疯了,因为它会吃掉你所有利润,”Watt在谈及大多数闭源模型相对高昂的成本时说道。
商业用户、工程师和开发者可以根据AI模型的能力来分配工作负载。他们可以在内部封闭环境中托管模型。但有些人对使用中国模型心存顾虑,尤其是出于地缘政治因素,这推动了对美国开发模型的兴趣。
Watt表示,对中国模型的犹豫(在存在这种犹豫的地方)通常基于地缘政治担忧。这正在造成对西方开发的开放权重模型(如Meta和Reflection AI开发的模型)的压抑需求。
AI学习平台DataCamp约有6000家机构用户,其AI导师在最近一个月分析了约140万小时的学习数据。该公司一直在评估谷歌的开放权重辅导模型Gemma 4。联合创始人兼CEO Jonathan Cornelissen表示,中国模型对某些政府和企业用户来说可能是个问题。
但就目前而言,开放权重模型的主要瓶颈在于基础设施。Cornelissen说,运行开放权重模型的提供商无法以所需的速度或规模交付服务。延迟方面不具备竞争力。有些速度快但容量不足,有些则在响应时间上不达标。
目前,DataCamp正从Anthropic转向OpenAI,Cornelissen认为后者成本更低。该公司尚未将其导师系统迁移到开放权重模型。
芝加哥Beermann LLP合伙人、网络安全咨询公司Steele Fortress创始人Jonathan Steele在MacBook Pro上本地运行Qwen模型,用于计费和其他敏感任务。他还在其他工作中使用Claude和ChatGPT。
开放权重模型的经济性可能颇具吸引力,但其实用性取决于基础设施和输出质量。
比较成本并不简单。如果一个开源模型可能需要半小时生成草稿,但需要五小时的律师审阅,而一个前沿模型可能15分钟生成草稿、30分钟修改,就很难判断哪个更贵。
但一些公司如红帽正在寻找从中国模型中获取价值的方法。其智谱AI试点项目已有多达1400名工程师使用,约70%的推理流量流向开放权重模型。工程师们有使用前沿模型的预算,并根据工作需求在开放权重模型和专有模型之间分配。
对红帽而言,控制成本是关键驱动力。前沿模型支出曾无约束地增长。随着开放权重模型的到来,工程师每人每月限额300美元,以鼓励他们为任务选择合适的模型。
配额是实验性的,工程师可以向经理申请例外。Watt表示,外部托管模型的成本从失控到持平,再到如今“大幅下降”。
展望未来,涉及中国AI模型的地缘政治问题可能加剧。美国国土安全部本月禁止联邦民事机构使用中国AI开发商DeepSeek的AI技术,援引“多重威胁向量”,包括潜在的数据传输至中国。但该命令并未区分DeepSeek的托管版本和企业可在本地服务器上运行的版本。
自主攻击安全公司Xbow的AI负责人Albert Ziegler表示,该公司已测试GLM但未在生产中使用。但他不排除使用开放权重模型的可能性。他的标准是性能相对成本、安全基准和客户接受度。
在Xbow的测试中,GLM有时需要比闭源模型多得多的token来解决问题,抵消了其大部分价格优势。Ziegler说,对于生产应用,其他闭源模型(此例中为马斯克旗下xAI的Grok)更为高效。
Ziegler的一个广泛担忧是开放权重模型可能带来的危险。
Ziegler预测,一年后开放权重模型将优于今天的闭源模型,“而且领先不少”。他认为这可能令人担忧。“人们可以在自己的私有集群上托管那种水平的模型,不受任何限制。”
中文翻译:
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选择你的首批生成式人工智能用例
要开始使用生成式人工智能,首先应关注那些能够改善人类信息体验的领域。
开放权重模型至少从表面上看,比美国专有模型便宜得多。
你可以在笔记本电脑上运行中国的人工智能模型。这些模型功能强大、能力出众、需求旺盛,并且有助于解决一个商业问题:人工智能令牌的支出。
这正在改变人工智能服务的经济格局,并给前沿模型带来竞争问题。
Anthropic在周一发布的IPO招股书中表示,随着各种模型纷纷问世,“客户可能会认为,前沿性能的增量提升不足以证明额外成本是合理的。”
在截至10月25日当周,按OpenRouter的全球统计,中国人工智能模型占其报告的令牌总量的一半以上。大约一年前,该网站每周使用量图表上列出的九个模型中,只有一个中国模型。OpenRouter通过单一API提供对多种人工智能模型的访问。
开源企业软件提供商红帽正在试点自托管版本的GLM,用于其内部用途。GLM是北京Z.ai推出的一款开放权重模型。中国科技巨头阿里巴巴广受欢迎的Qwen模型也以较小规模提供使用。
红帽杰出工程师兼首席技术官办公室副总裁斯蒂芬·瓦特表示,工程师们最初担心开放权重模型是否能像专有前沿模型一样强大。但他表示,他们发现这些模型“足够好”。
瓦特说,主要来自中国的开放权重模型在某些用例中已达到与Anthropic的Opus 4.6相当的功效水平。他说,工程师们对摆脱前沿模型有所顾虑,但红帽的使用数据表明,开放权重模型足以胜任许多任务。
“在人工智能之旅中,如果不从前沿模型开始,那你是疯了;但过了一段时间后,如果还停留在前沿模型上,那你也是疯了,因为它会吃掉你所有的利润,”瓦特说,他指的是大多数闭源模型相对较高的成本。
商业用户、工程师和开发者可以根据人工智能模型的能力来分配工作负载。他们可以在内部封闭环境中托管模型。但一些人对使用中国模型感到担忧,尤其是出于地缘政治原因,这正在激发人们对美国开发模型的兴趣。
对中国模型的犹豫——在存在这种犹豫的地方——通常基于地缘政治担忧。瓦特说,这正在造成对西方开发的开放权重模型的积压需求,例如Meta和Reflection AI开发的模型。
DataCamp是一个约有6000家组织使用的人工智能学习平台,其人工智能导师在最近一个月分析了约140万小时的学习数据。该平台一直在评估Gemma 4,这是谷歌的一款用于辅导的开放权重模型。联合创始人兼首席执行官乔纳森·科内利森表示,中国模型对一些政府和企业用户来说可能是个问题。
但就目前而言,开放权重模型的主要局限在于基础设施。科内利森说,运行开放权重模型的提供商无法以所需的速度或规模交付这些模型。他说,延迟方面不具竞争力。有些提供商速度够快但缺乏容量,而另一些则在响应时间上不达标。
目前,DataCamp正从Anthropic转向OpenAI,科内利森认为后者的成本更低。该公司尚未将其导师迁移到开放权重模型上。
芝加哥Beermann LLP的合伙人、网络安全咨询公司Steele Fortress的创始人乔纳森·斯蒂尔在一台MacBook Pro上本地使用Qwen模型处理计费和其他敏感任务。他还在其他工作中使用Claude和ChatGPT。
开放权重模型的经济性可能很有吸引力,但其实用性取决于基础设施和输出质量。
比较成本并不简单。如果一个开源模型可能需要半小时生成一份草稿,但需要五小时的律师审阅,而一个前沿模型可能只需15分钟起草、30分钟修订,那就很难判断哪个更贵。
但一些公司,如红帽,正在寻找从中国模型中获取价值的方法。其Z.ai试点项目有多达1400名工程师使用,其中约70%的推理流量流向开放权重模型。工程师们有使用前沿模型的预算,并根据他们想要完成的工作在开放权重模型和专有模型之间进行分配。
对红帽而言,控制成本是一个关键驱动因素。前沿模型的支出曾一度无约束地增长。随着开放权重模型的出现,工程师每人每月被限制在300美元的配额,以鼓励他们为任务选择合适的模型。
这些配额是实验性的,工程师可以向经理申请例外。瓦特说,外部托管模型的成本从失控到持平,再到现在的“大幅下降”。
未来,涉及中国人工智能模型的地缘政治问题可能会加剧。美国国土安全部本月禁止联邦民事机构使用中国人工智能开发商DeepSeek的人工智能技术,理由是存在“多重威胁向量”,包括数据可能被传输到中国。但该命令并未区分DeepSeek的托管版本和企业可以在本地服务器上运行的版本。
自主攻击性安全公司Xbow的人工智能负责人阿尔伯特·齐格勒表示,该公司已测试了GLM,但未在生产中使用。但他没有排除开放权重模型的可能性。他的标准是相对于成本的性能、安全基准和客户接受度。
在Xbow的测试中,GLM有时需要比闭源模型多得多的令牌来解决问题,抵消了其大部分价格优势。齐格勒说,对于其生产应用,其他闭源模型——在此例中是埃隆·马斯克的SpaceXSI旗下的Grok——更为高效。
齐格勒的一个广泛担忧是开放权重模型可能带来的危险。
齐格勒预测,一年之内,开放权重模型将比今天的闭源模型更好,“而且好相当多”。他认为这可能令人恐惧。“人们可以在自己的私人集群上托管那种水准的模型,不受任何限制。”
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The open-weight models are, at least on the surface, considerably cheaper than their U.S. proprietary counterparts.
You can run a Chinese AI model on a laptop. The models are powerful, capable, in high demand, and help address a business problem: spending on AI tokens.
That is changing the economics of AI services and creating competitive problems for frontier models.
In its IPO prospectus released on Monday, Anthropic said that as a broad variety of models becomes available, "customers may conclude that incremental performance gains at the frontier do not justify the additional cost."
Chinese AI models accounted for more than half the reported token volume on OpenRouter, in its global count, in the week ending on Oct. 25. About a year earlier, only one Chinese model appeared among the nine named on the site’s weekly usage chart. OpenRouter provides access to multiple AI models through a single API.
For its own internal use, open source enterprise software provider Red Hat is piloting a self-hosted version of GLM, an open-weight model from Z.ai in Beijing. Chinese tech giant Alibaba’s popular Qwen model is also available at a smaller scale.
Engineers were initially nervous about whether open-weight models would be as capable as proprietary frontier models, said Stephen Watt, distinguished engineer and vice president of the office of the CTO at Red Hat. But they discovered that they were “good enough,” he said.
Watt said open-weight models, primarily from China, had reached a level of efficacy comparable to Anthropic’s Opus 4.6 in certain use cases. He said engineers had concerns about moving away from frontier models, but Red Hat’s usage data suggested open-weight models were adequate for many tasks.
“You’d be crazy not to start on a frontier model on your AI journey, but after a while, you’d be crazy to stay on it because it just eats all your margin," Watt said, referring to the comparatively high cost of most closed models.
Business users, engineers and developers can allocate workloads based on the capabilities of AI models. They can host models internally, in closed environments. But some are apprehensive about using Chinese models, especially because of geopolitics, which is fueling interest in U.S.-developed models.
The hesitation about Chinese models, where it exists, is usually based on geopolitical concerns. This is creating a pent-up demand for Western-built open-weight models, such as those developed by Meta and Reflection AI, Watt said.
DataCamp, an AI learning platform used by about 6,000 organizations, had its AI tutor analyze some 1.4 million hours of learning in the most recent month. It has been evaluating Gemma 4, a Google open-weight model for tutoring. Chinese models could be a problem for some governments and enterprise users, said co-founder and CEO Jonathan Cornelissen.
But for now, the major limitation of open-weight models is infrastructure. The providers that run the open-weight models can't deliver them at the speed or scale that is needed, Cornelissen said. The latency is not competitive, he said. Some have the speed but lack capacity, while others fall short on response times.
For now, DataCamp is moving from Anthropic to OpenAI, which Cornelissen said he sees as less costly. It has not moved its tutor to an open-weight model.
Jonathan Steele, a partner at Beermann LLP in Chicago and founder of cybersecurity consultancy Steele Fortress, uses a Qwen model locally on a MacBook Pro for billing and other sensitive tasks. He also uses Claude and ChatGPT for other work.
The economics of open-weight models may be compelling, but their usefulness depends on infrastructure and output quality.
Comparing costs isn't straightforward. If an open-source model might take half an hour to produce a draft but needs five hours of attorney review, while a frontier model might take 15 minutes to draft and 30 minutes of revisions, it’s hard to determine which is more expensive.
But some companies, like Red Hat, are finding ways to get value from Chinese models. Its Z.ai pilot is being used by as many as 1,400 engineers, with about 70% of their inference traffic going to the open-weight models. Engineers have a budget for using frontier models and allocate between the open-weight and proprietary models based on the work they want done.
For Red Hat, controlling cost was a key driver. Frontier-model spending was growing unconstrained. Engineers, with the arrival of open-weight models, are limited to a $300-a-month quota per associate to encourage them to choose the right models for the task.
The quotas are experimental, and engineers can request exceptions from managers. The cost of externally hosted models went from runaway to flatlining to "radically decreasing" now, Watt said.
For the future, geopolitical issues involving Chinese AI models may intensify. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security this month barred federal civilian agencies from using Chinese AI developer DeepSeek’s AI technology, citing "multiple threat vectors," including potential transfer of data to China. But the order doesn't distinguish between DeepSeek's hosted versions and those a business can run on a local server.
Albert Ziegler, head of AI at Xbow, an autonomous offensive security company, said it had tested GLM but was not using it in production. But he didn’t rule out open-weight models. His criteria are performance relative to cost, safety benchmarks and customer acceptance.
In Xbow's tests, GLM sometimes needed substantially more tokens to solve a problem than a closed model, offsetting much of its price advantage. For its production applications, other closed models, Grok from Elon Musk’s SpaceXSI, in this case, were more efficient, Ziegler said.
A broad concern for Ziegler is the danger open-weight models might bring.
In a year, the open-weight models will be better than today's closed models, "and by quite a bit," Ziegler predicted. That could be scary, he argued. "People can host a model of that caliber on their own private cluster without any restrictions.”
文章标题:中国人工智能浪潮为企业提供了控制成本的新途径
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