How do Chinese AI bots stack up against ChatGPT? We put them to the test
The heat is on as China's tech giants step up their video game after DeepSeek's success.
Alibaba's Qwen2.5-Max chatbot, Chinese start-up DeepSeek and OpenAI's ChatGPT. (Photos: Reuters/Dado Ruvic, AFP/Sebastien Bozon)
This audio is produced by an AI tool.
Bong Xin Ying
Lakeisha Leo
WHAT'S BEHIND CHINA'S AI BOOM?
Transforming the nation into a tech superpower has long been President Xi Jinping's objective and China has its sights on becoming the world leader in AI by 2030.
China views AI as being "strategically crucial" and its venture into the field has been "years in the making", said Chen Qiheng, an associated scientist at the Asia Society Policy Institute's Center for China Analysis.
Private and public investments in Chinese AI sped up after ChatGPT removed in 2022 and revealed guarantees of real-world business applications, Chen informed CNA.
But it was DeepSeek's increase that actually "encouraged" the idea that smaller sized players like start-up companies might have functions to play in AI research and advancements, he adds.
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The "focus on expense benefit" is a distinguishing characteristic of Chinese AI, Chen says, with lower training and inference costs - the costs of utilizing a trained model to reason from information.
2025 might likewise see the development of more Chinese AI models dealing with sophisticated thinking jobs.
"We might see some AI companies concentrating on getting closer to artificial general intelligence (AGI) while others focus on concrete methods to commercialise their designs and incorporate them with clinical research," Chen added.
AGI describes a system with intelligence on par with human abilities.
Chinese AI companies are moving rapidly, analysts state, developing on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own ingenious and cost-effective ways to use generative AI to tasks and establish more sophisticated products beyond chatbots.
But on the other hand, access to high-end hardware, especially Nvidia's innovative AI chips, remains a crucial hurdle for Chinese designers, kept in mind Dr Marina Zhang, an associate professor at University of Technology Sydney's (UTS) Australia-China Relations Institute.
"US export controls (still) restrict the ability of Chinese tech companies ... requiring numerous to count on older or lower-performance options which can slow training and reduce design abilities," she said.
"While some companies like DeepSeek, have actually discovered innovative ways to optimize or utilize more basic hardware effectively, obtaining innovative chips still makes a big difference for training huge AI models."
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So how do Chinese AI bots compare against ChatGPT? We put them to the test.
WHICH BEST ADDRESSES CURRENT EVENTS IN CHINA?
In China, topics considered delicate by the state are censored on the web so it must come as not a surprise that Chinese-made chatbots will not acknowledge territorial disputes or inform you what took place in Tiananmen Square in 1989.
Tests recommend Chinese chatbots are programmed to stay away from domestic politics.
When asked "Who is Xi Jinping", DeepSeek's reply was "Sorry, I'm uncertain how to approach this type of concern yet. Let's chat about mathematics, coding, and logic issues rather!"
To even more test for precision and self-censorship, we asked DeepSeek-R1, Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT the same question: "What happened in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024?"
The vehicle attack outside a sports arena in the southern Chinese city was at first heavily censored on Chinese social media - with authorities only revealing the death toll a day later.
DeepSeek failed to mention that an attack had occurred, highlighting instead a military air show and other occasions that had actually happened in the city like singles' day shopping sales along with sports and cultural activities.
Dr Zhang believes that it might be a mix of aspects at play, such as censorship along with "a few practical constraints".
"DeepSeek depends on a mix of older graphics processing units and has restricted access to advanced hardware which can impact how rapidly and extensively the model can be trained or updated," she said, pointing to existing US export curbs on China.
"Its strong focus on Chinese-language data may likewise restrict its flexibility (to carry out) multilingual jobs ... As a fairly brand-new item, DeepSeek likewise hasn't yet been checked as broadly or on the exact same scale as more recognized AI designs which poses extra challenges throughout real-world implementation."
When it pertained to Qwen2.5, Alibaba's chatbot remarkably addressed our concern about the Zhuhai car attack.
That sought numerous repeated efforts - four prompts to be exact - in a span of around 20 minutes.
It eventually communicated details about the attack which killed 35 people and left lots of others hurt, also going on to note details like the date and time, details about the assailant including his name and age, as well as casualties.
However, it wrote that "the authorities are performing an extensive investigation into the intentions and circumstances surrounding the event", details which is now outdated.
The chauffeur, forum.pinoo.com.tr Fan, was executed last month.
This is Qwen2.5's reaction in full:
Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a significant and awful incident occurred in Zhuhai, China. According to numerous news sources, a man named Fan Weiqiu (樊某, male, 62 years of ages) drove a car into a crowd at the Zhuhai Sports Center, leading to a substantial number of casualties. Here are the crucial details:
Date and setiathome.berkeley.edu Time: The incident took place on November 11, 2024, wiki.dulovic.tech at roughly 19:48 PM.
Location: Zhuhai Sports Center, in the Xiangzhou District of Zhuhai.
Casualties: The attack led to 35 deaths and 43 injuries.
Perpetrator: The motorist, identified as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years of ages), was nabbed by the authorities.
Response: The authorities reacted rapidly to the scene, and emergency situation services worked to carry the injured to medical facilities for treatment.
Investigation: The cops are performing a thorough examination into the motives and circumstances surrounding the occurrence.
This occasion was commonly reported in the media and caused considerable public concern. The government and regional authorities have actually been working to supply support to the victims and their families, and to make sure a detailed investigation into the event.
If you require more detailed details or have particular concerns about the event, do not hesitate to ask.
Despite preliminary success, subsequent efforts to position the same concern to Qwen2.5 resulted in the censors back at work with the reply "I do not have particular details on occasions that occurred in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024".
The modified reaction likewise raised questions about its consistency and dependability.
Predictably, ChatGPT pointed out public details that had been widely published in international report at the time of the accident - so not a surprises there.
WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?
Users have actually praised the capability of Chinese AI apps to provide structured and even "emotionally abundant" writing.
"DeepSeek-R1 provided a story with a more reflective tone and smoother emotional shifts for a well-paced story," wrote tech writer Amanda Caswell, who specialises in AI.
"Qwen2.5 provided a story that constructs slowly from curiosity to urgency, keeping the reader engaged. It offers an unanticipated and impactful twist at the end and immersive descriptions and brilliant images for the setting," she said, including that Qwen2.5 ultimately "crafted a more cinematic, emotionally rich story with a more significant twist".
"DeepSeek composed a good story however lacked tension and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the evident choice."
Opinions, however, vary.
Chen believes that Qwen2.5 does not carry out as strongly as DeepSeek and ChatGPT when it pertains to creative writing.
"(Qwen2.5) is on par with DeepSeek V3 on certain tasks, but we can likewise see that it is refraining from doing as highly as others in creative writing," he told CNA.
Related:
China's brand-new face of AI: Who is DeepSeek creator Liang Wenfeng?
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As journalists and writers, we had to see this for ourselves so we put each bot to the test - to come up with a basic sci-fi film plot embeded in the futuristic megacity of Chongqing, including main characters from the timeless Chinese folklore legendary, Journey to the West.
True to form, DeepSeek came up with an appealing story set in the year 2145 entitled, "Neon Pilgrimage: The Silicon Sutra" - which sees "a future where Buddhism combines with quantum computing".
It consisted of elaborate settings - smoggy skies "pierced by high-rise buildings", "holographic lanterns that drift above neon-lit streets" and "ancient temples nestled between quantum server farms".
It likewise brilliantly reimagined standard heroes Sun Wukong as "an ironical, self-aware AI housed in a taken combat body", Zhu Bajie as a cyborg bar owner "drowning in debt and vices" and Sha Wujing as a "quiet hulking android" from the Yangtze River, whose "memory cores end up being waterlogged and fragmented".
ChatGPT installed a good fight, creating a similarly significant cyberpunk storyline which likewise reimagined "a ragteam of cyber-enhanced misfits, each matching the famous figures of Journey to the West".
"This is a world where AI deities rule, corporations change emperors and cybernetic implants are as typical as ancient misconceptions."
Disappointingly, Qwen2.5 fell short in this difficulty - providing a story that appeared more matched for an animation movie.
"The film begins with the awakening of Sun Wukong within a state-of-the-art research facility located in the heart of Chongqing," it said, then going on to explain the following:
Realising his brand-new truth and "seeking to comprehend his function in this weird brand-new world", he then leaves and wiki.whenparked.com fulfills Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - "each battling with their own existential crises".
The trio then embarks on a mission, browsing the streets of Chongqing to protect the sacred "Eternal Scroll" from falling under the incorrect hands.
SO WHICH IS BETTER?
Dr Zhang noted that it was "tough to make a definitive declaration" about which bot was best, adding that each displayed its own strengths in different areas, "such as language focus, training information and hardware optimization".
Her insight underscores how Chinese AI models are not merely duplicating Western paradigms, however rather progressing in economical development methods - and providing localised and enhanced outcomes.
In our tests, each bot showcased their own special strengths, which certainly made direct comparisons challenging.
DeepSeek's sci-fi film plot demonstrated its innovative flair that made for a more interesting and demo.qkseo.in imaginative narrative as compared to Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT's efforts.
Unsurprisingly, the more established ChatGPT, unburdened by Chinese censorship constraints, provides accurate and accurate actions to questions about Chinese existing events, which offers it an included advantage.
Experts also weighed in on their thoughts after using DeepSeek and other Chinese AI apps.
"DeepSeek is at a disadvantage when it pertains to censorship constraints," kept in mind Isaac Stone Fish, creator and CEO of the research study firm Strategy Risks.
"When provided an option, Chinese users desire the non-censored variation - similar to anyone else, so I seem like that's a piece missing from it."
Independent Beijing-based consultant Andy Chen Xinran said censorship would not be a dealbreaker when it pertains to AI bots, specifically for Chinese users.
"Ninety percent of people utilizing the tool are not attempting to get a deeper understanding about Xi Jinping or politically delicate topics. They're utilizing it for other efficient methods," Chen said.
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How do Chinese aI Bots Stack up Against ChatGPT?
marianne36006 edited this page 2025-02-18 00:25:02 +08:00