Earlier this month when 01.AI’s Yi-Large popped up on Chatbot Arena, making the top 10, I realized I didn’t know anything about the Chinese AI scene. The Chatbot Arena, for those who don’t know, is a modern-day Colosseum where anyone inclined to do so can write a prompt and vote on which of two rival chatbots gave the best answer. Each model gets an Elo score (like in chess) based on its wins and losses. It’s not a perfect system, as models are judged based on subjective preference rather than objective performance, but it’s good enough.