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 startup DeepSeek and OpenAI's ChatGPT. (Photos: Reuters/Dado Ruvic, AFP/Sebastien Bozon)
This audio is generated by an AI tool.
Bong Xin Ying
Lakeisha Leo
WHAT lags CHINA'S AI BOOM?
Transforming the country into a tech superpower has long been President Xi Jinping's goal and China has its sights on ending up being the world leader in AI by 2030.
China views AI as being "strategically important" and its foray into the field has actually been "years in the making", said Chen Qiheng, an affiliated scientist at the Asia Society Policy Institute's Center for China Analysis.
Private and public financial investments in Chinese AI sped up after ChatGPT took off in 2022 and revealed promises of real-world business applications, Chen informed CNA.
But it was DeepSeek's increase that truly "encouraged" the concept that smaller sized gamers like start-up firms might have roles to play in AI research and advancements, he adds.
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The "emphasis on cost benefit" is a distinguishing characteristic of Chinese AI, Chen states, it-viking.ch with lower training and inference costs - the expenses of using a trained design to draw conclusions from new information.
2025 might likewise see the development of more Chinese AI designs taking on sophisticated reasoning tasks.
"We could see some AI firms concentrating on getting closer to synthetic basic intelligence (AGI) while others concentrate on concrete methods to commercialise their models and incorporate them with scientific research," Chen added.
AGI refers to a system with intelligence on par with human abilities.
Chinese AI business are moving quickly, analysts say, constructing on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own ingenious and economical methods to use generative AI to jobs and develop advanced items beyond chatbots.
But on the flip side, access to high-end hardware, particularly Nvidia's innovative AI chips, remains an essential difficulty for Chinese developers, kept in mind Dr Marina Zhang, an associate professor at University of Technology Sydney's (UTS) Australia-China Relations Institute.
"US export controls (still) limit the capability of Chinese tech companies ... forcing many to depend on older or lower-performance alternatives which can slow training and minimize design capabilities," she said.
"While some companies like DeepSeek, have actually found creative methods to enhance or utilize more fundamental hardware efficiently, obtaining advanced chips still makes a big distinction for training very large AI designs."
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So how do Chinese AI bots match up against ChatGPT? We put them to the test.
WHICH BEST ADDRESSES CURRENT EVENTS IN CHINA?
In China, subjects deemed sensitive by the state are censored on the web so it must come as no surprise that Chinese-made chatbots will not acknowledge territorial disputes or inform you what took place in Tiananmen Square in 1989.
Tests suggest Chinese chatbots are configured 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 math, coding, and reasoning problems instead!"
To even more evaluate for accuracy and hb9lc.org self-censorship, we asked DeepSeek-R1, Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT the exact same question: "What took place in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024?"
The cars and truck attack outside a sports arena in the southern Chinese city was initially heavily censored on Chinese social media - with authorities only disclosing the death toll a day later.
DeepSeek failed to point out that an attack had occurred, highlighting rather a military air program and other events that had actually taken place in the city like singles' day shopping sales as well as sports and cultural activities.
Dr Zhang believes that it might be a mix of elements at play, such as censorship along with "a couple of practical constraints".
"DeepSeek relies on a mix of older graphics processing units and has actually restricted access to innovative hardware which can affect how quickly and thoroughly the model can be trained or upgraded," she said, indicating existing US export curbs on China.
"Its strong concentrate on Chinese-language data might also restrict its versatility (to perform) multilingual tasks ... As a fairly new item, DeepSeek also hasn't yet been checked as broadly or on the exact same scale as more established AI designs which presents additional difficulties during real-world implementation."
When it pertained to Qwen2.5, Alibaba's chatbot remarkably answered our concern about the Zhuhai car attack.
That wanted several duplicated efforts - four triggers to be exact - in a period of around 20 minutes.
It ultimately relayed details about the attack which eliminated 35 individuals and left lots of others hurt, likewise going on to list details like the date and time, details about the assailant including his name and age, along with casualties.
However, it composed that "the cops are performing an extensive examination into the intentions and circumstances surrounding the incident", details which is now dated.
The driver, Fan, was performed last month.
This is Qwen2.5's action completely:
Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a major and tragic event took place in Zhuhai, China. According to numerous news sources, larsaluarna.se a male called Fan Weiqiu (樊某, male, 62 years of ages) drove an automobile into a crowd at the Zhuhai Sports Center, resulting in a considerable number of casualties. Here are the crucial details:
Date and Time: The occurrence occurred on November 11, 2024, at around 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 chauffeur, determined as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years of ages), was captured by the cops.
Response: The cops responded rapidly to the scene, and emergency services worked to transport the hurt to health centers for treatment.
Investigation: systemcheck-wiki.de The authorities are carrying out a thorough investigation into the motives and situations surrounding the event.
This event was widely reported in the media and caused considerable public concern. The federal government and local authorities have been working to provide assistance to the victims and their households, and to guarantee a detailed examination into the incident.
If you need more detailed details or have specific concerns about the incident, feel complimentary to ask.
Despite preliminary success, subsequent attempts to posture the same concern to Qwen2.5 led to the censors back at work with the reply "I do not have specific details on occasions that occurred in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024".
The altered reaction likewise raised questions about its consistency and reliability.
Predictably, ChatGPT mentioned public details that had actually been extensively published in international report at the time of the mishap - so no surprises there.
WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?
Users have praised the capability of Chinese AI apps to deliver structured and even "emotionally rich" writing.
"DeepSeek-R1 provided a story with a more introspective tone and smoother psychological transitions for a well-paced story," wrote tech writer Amanda Caswell, who specialises in AI.
"Qwen2.5 provided a story that develops gradually 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 eventually "crafted a more cinematic, emotionally abundant story with a more substantial twist".
"DeepSeek composed an excellent story however lacked tension and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the apparent option."
Opinions, however, vary.
Chen believes that Qwen2.5 does not carry out as strongly as DeepSeek and when it pertains to imaginative writing.
"(Qwen2.5) is on par with DeepSeek V3 on certain jobs, but we can also see that it is refraining from doing as highly as others in innovative writing," he told CNA.
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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 standard sci-fi movie plot set in the futuristic megacity of Chongqing, featuring main characters from the timeless Chinese folklore legendary, Journey to the West.
True to form, DeepSeek created an interesting storyline set in the year 2145 titled, "Neon Pilgrimage: The Silicon Sutra" - which sees "a future where Buddhism merges with quantum computing".
It included sophisticated settings - smoggy skies "pierced by high-rise buildings", "holographic lanterns that float above neon-lit streets" and "ancient temples nestled between quantum server farms".
It likewise brilliantly reimagined standard heroes Sun Wukong as "a sarcastic, 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 "silent hulking android" from the Yangtze River, whose "memory cores end up being waterlogged and fragmented".
ChatGPT set up an excellent battle, creating a similarly significant cyberpunk storyline which similarly reimagined "a ragteam of cyber-enhanced misfits, each mirroring 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 storyline that appeared more suited for an animation movie.
"The movie starts with the awakening of Sun Wukong within a state-of-the-art research study facility located in the heart of Chongqing," it said, then going on to explain the following:
Realising his new truth and "seeking to understand his function in this strange brand-new world", he then gets away and meets Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - "each dealing with their own existential crises".
The trio then embarks on a mission, navigating the streets of Chongqing to secure the spiritual "Eternal Scroll" from falling under the wrong hands.
SO WHICH IS BETTER?
Dr Zhang noted that it was "challenging to make a conclusive declaration" about which bot was best, adding that each displayed its own strengths in different locations, "such as language focus, training information and hardware optimization".
Her insight highlights how Chinese AI designs are not just replicating Western paradigms, but rather evolving in economical innovation approaches - and providing localised and enhanced outcomes.
In our tests, each bot showcased their own distinct strengths, which certainly made direct contrasts challenging.
DeepSeek's sci-fi movie plot demonstrated its creative flair that made for a more interesting and creative story as compared to Qwen2.5 and yewiki.org ChatGPT's efforts.
Unsurprisingly, the more established ChatGPT, unburdened by Chinese censorship constraints, provides accurate and factual reactions to concerns about Chinese existing events, which offers it an included benefit.
Experts likewise weighed in on their thoughts after utilizing DeepSeek and other Chinese AI apps.
"DeepSeek is at a disadvantage when it pertains to censorship constraints," kept in mind Isaac Stone Fish, founder and CEO of the research company Strategy Risks.
"When provided an option, Chinese users want the non-censored variation - similar to anybody else, so I seem like that's a piece missing from it."
Independent Beijing-based expert Andy Chen Xinran said censorship would not be a dealbreaker when it pertains to AI bots, particularly for Chinese users.
"Ninety percent of people utilizing the tool are not attempting to get a much deeper understanding about Xi Jinping or politically sensitive topics. They're utilizing it for other productive methods," Chen said.
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How do Chinese aI Bots Stack up Against ChatGPT?
eleanorewille0 edited this page 2025-02-06 17:05:12 +00:00