TMTPOST--Artificial Intelligence (AI) models should not be monopolized by a few companies as exclusive moneymakers and instead they should be more accessible, said Zhou Hongyi, the founder of 360 Group, at the 12th International Security Conference (ISC).

He noted that general AI models are not free due to high costs, justifying token-based charges. Meanwhile, he defended the use of APIs, arguing that creating APIs is meant to encourage integration. He opposed developing plugins, advocating for direct integration of AI capabilities into browsers.

During the event, Zhou revisited 360 Group's return to Chinese stock markets from the New York Stock Exchange and the subsequent sanctions from the U.S. Department of Commerce and Department of Defense. He explained that this move aligned 360 Group with national interests, replacing foreign shareholders with domestic ones, thus resolving identity issues.

Zhou revealed that 360 has identified and countered 54 state-level Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) organizations, which led to the U.S. sanctions. The company's role in exposing long-term cyber espionage by intelligence agencies on critical infrastructure, research institutions, and government bodies was highlighted 12 times in the 2022 U.S. Congressional Cybersecurity Report, marking 360 as an alleged threat to U.S. cybersecurity.

Reflecting on 360's decade-long journey, Zhou disclosed an investment of nearly 30 billion yuan in cybersecurity research and development. This investment surpasses the combined total of the second to tenth largest companies in the industry. Zhou humorously said that 360’s business model relies on internet advertising revenue to subsidize its security business, thanking users for their support through ad views.

Zhou said AI introduced a new era akin to the internet's rise, with large language models at the forefront. He identified two key challenges AI poses to cybersecurity: the potential use of AI by malicious actors and the evolving nature of cyber threats into human-machine and machine-machine confrontations. To address these challenges, 360 has announced the free availability of its security AI models as part of ISC2024.

However, the 360 security large model being made available for free is different from the previously launched 360 Intelligent Brain large model. The former is a vertical model focused on the cybersecurity domain, while the latter is a general-purpose model. The security large model primarily targets the B2B market, whereas the Zhibrain model is aimed at consumer users. Due to this distinction, the free access to the 360 security large model comes with conditions:

The standard capabilities of the large model are provided for free to users who purchase 360's standard products. Additionally, existing customers who have already purchased 360 products will receive free upgrades to the security large model.

"Free access to the 360 security large model refers to six security industry-specific models. These models need to work in conjunction with 360's endpoint security and the 360 Security Brain. The security large model itself is not intended to be sold as a standalone product... It's akin to upgrading from a steam engine to an electric motor without any additional cost," Zhou explained during a discussion.

He emphasized that he does not want large models to become exclusive tools controlled by a few companies to generate profit. Instead, he aims to make professional large models accessible to every enterprise. "360 strongly supports open source, which will benefit productivity across all enterprises in China," he said.

During the conference on July 31, 360 announced two major initiatives for consumer users: first, the launch of the "AI Assistant" product, which integrates models from 15 different large model providers; second, the release of the 360 AI Office Suite, a comprehensive learning and office toolset.

The 15 large model providers in China collaborating on the "AI Assistant" include Zhipu AI, SenseTime, Baichuan Intelligent, Volcano Engine, Baidu Intelligent Cloud, Tencent, iFlytek, Huawei Cloud, MiniMax, ZeroOne, and Mianbi Intelligence. As a result of this collaboration, users can directly call upon the AI Assistant within key 360 products such as 360 Security Guard, 360 Security Browser, 360 Search, and 360 Smart Hardware, and select the appropriate model.

However, Zhou is not entirely in favor of the approach where many large model providers create browser plugins for their applications. He believes that the overuse of plugins can be annoying to users. "During the internet boom, multiple companies attempted to add their plugins to the same browser, ultimately degrading the user experience. Therefore, we do not advocate for plugins. Instead, we aim to integrate capabilities directly into the browser," Zhou pointed out, explaining one of the considerations behind the AI Assistant's development.

The 360 AI Office Suite includes AI-powered tools for images, document writing, video and audio, PPT, and a comprehensive set of office templates. This suite is also included in the 360 VIP membership benefits, priced at 216 yuan per year. Zhao Jun, President of 360 Group, disclosed that the 360 AI VIP membership will introduce ten new benefits each quarter, totaling over 300 benefits by next year.

As a key focus area for 360, the user data and usage metrics of 360 AI Search were also disclosed during the conference. Zhou said that 360 AI Search now has over ten million monthly active users. Liang Zhihui, Vice President of 360 Group and head of 360 AI Applications, revealed that the total visits to 360 AI Search from April to July exceeded 100 million, surpassing the combined total of the second and third-place competitors.

While the B2B security large model is being offered for free, Zhou has a different strategy for monetizing the consumer-facing large model. "The general-purpose large model is not free because its costs are too high. Large model providers charge based on API usage and tokens, which is reasonable due to the costs associated with inference. Therefore, future AI-based tools and business models may not solely rely on the internet model of free access supported by advertising," Zhou said.

He explained that during the internet era, software costs were relatively fixed, with zero marginal cost, allowing for free use supported by advertising. However, with the advent of large models, it is necessary to account for partner and inference costs. Subscription fees without advertisements can enhance the user experience. "It may be difficult for developers to charge users for a single product. By bundling developers' products with 360's membership services, we can explore reasonable business models that support developers," he added.

Regarding concerns about whether collaborating with Zhipu AI and other large model providers constitutes "wrapping" large models, Zhou believes that the key is in the application. "There are different levels of wrapping—shallow and deep. Calling an API is a simple form of wrapping, but integrating the models into our office suite and various scenarios is a deep form of wrapping. Simply calling an API is not inherently inferior; providers create APIs hoping for integration," he said.