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 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 objective and China has its sights on becoming the world leader in AI by 2030.
China views AI as being "strategically essential" and its venture into the field has actually 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 financial investments in Chinese AI sped up after ChatGPT removed in 2022 and revealed promises of real-world company applications, Chen told CNA.
But it was DeepSeek's increase that really "encouraged" the concept that smaller sized gamers like start-up companies might have roles to play in AI research study and advancements, he includes.
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The "focus on expense benefit" is a distinguishing characteristic of Chinese AI, Chen states, with lower training and reasoning costs - the costs of using a trained design to reason from new information.
2025 could likewise see the development of more Chinese AI designs dealing with innovative thinking tasks.
"We might see some AI companies focusing on getting closer to synthetic basic intelligence (AGI) while others focus on concrete ways to commercialise their designs and integrate them with scientific research," Chen included.
AGI refers to a system with intelligence on par with human abilities.
Chinese AI companies are moving rapidly, experts state, building on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own innovative and cost-efficient methods to apply generative AI to jobs and establish more sophisticated items beyond chatbots.
But on the other side, access to high-end hardware, particularly Nvidia's sophisticated AI chips, remains an essential obstacle for setiathome.berkeley.edu Chinese developers, noted Dr Marina Zhang, an associate teacher at University of Technology Sydney's (UTS) Australia-China Relations Institute.
"US export controls (still) restrict the capability of Chinese tech companies ... requiring many to depend on older or lower-performance options which can slow training and decrease model capabilities," she said.
"While some companies like DeepSeek, have actually discovered innovative methods to optimize or utilize more basic hardware efficiently, obtaining advanced chips still makes a big distinction for training large AI models."
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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 internet so it ought to 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 avoid domestic politics.
When asked "Who is Xi Jinping", DeepSeek's reply was "Sorry, I'm uncertain how to approach this kind of question yet. Let's chat about math, coding, and reasoning problems rather!"
To even more check for accuracy and self-censorship, we asked DeepSeek-R1, Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT the exact same concern: "What occurred in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024?"
The cars and truck attack outside a sports arena in the southern Chinese city was initially greatly censored on Chinese social networks - with authorities just divulging the death toll a day later on.
DeepSeek failed to point out that an attack had happened, highlighting instead a military air show and other events that had actually occurred in the city like singles' day shopping sales as well as sports and cultural activities.
Dr Zhang thinks that it may be a mix of factors at play, such as censorship along with "a few useful constraints".
"DeepSeek relies on a mix of older graphics processing units and has limited access to advanced hardware which can affect how rapidly and thoroughly the design can be trained or upgraded," she said, indicating existing US export curbs on China.
"Its strong focus on Chinese-language data might likewise restrict its flexibility (to perform) multilingual jobs ... As a fairly new item, DeepSeek also hasn't yet been tested as broadly or on the very same scale as more recognized AI designs which poses additional obstacles throughout real-world deployment."
When it pertained to Qwen2.5, Alibaba's chatbot remarkably addressed our question about the Zhuhai vehicle attack.
That was after multiple repeated attempts - 4 triggers to be precise - in a span of around 20 minutes.
It ultimately communicated details about the attack which eliminated 35 people and photorum.eclat-mauve.fr left dozens of others injured, likewise going on to list details like the date and time, details about the assailant including his name and age, as well as casualties.
However, it composed that "the police are performing an extensive examination into the intentions and scenarios surrounding the occurrence", details which is now outdated.
The driver, Fan, was executed last month.
This is Qwen2.5's reaction completely:
Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a major and awful event took place in Zhuhai, China. According to several news sources, a male named Fan Weiqiu (樊某, male, 62 years old) drove a vehicle into a crowd at the Zhuhai Sports Center, resulting in a considerable number of casualties. Here are the key details:
Date and Time: The occurrence took place on November 11, 2024, at around 19:48 PM.
Location: Zhuhai Sports Center, in the Xiangzhou District of Zhuhai.
Casualties: The attack resulted in 35 deaths and 43 injuries.
Perpetrator: The chauffeur, recognized as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years old), was captured by the police.
Response: The authorities responded quickly to the scene, and emergency situation services worked to transport the injured to health centers for treatment.
Investigation: The police are conducting a comprehensive investigation into the intentions and scenarios surrounding the event.
This occasion was commonly reported in the media and triggered considerable public issue. The federal government and local authorities have been working to offer support to the victims and their households, and to ensure a detailed examination into the event.
If you need more detailed details or have specific concerns about the incident, feel free to ask.
Despite preliminary success, subsequent attempts to present the very same question to Qwen2.5 led to the censors back at work with the reply "I don't have particular details on occasions that took place in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024".
The transformed action likewise raised questions about its consistency and dependability.
Predictably, ChatGPT pointed out public details that had been commonly published in worldwide report at the time of the accident - so not a surprises there.
WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?
Users have praised the ability of Chinese AI apps to deliver structured and even "mentally rich" writing.
"DeepSeek-R1 provided a story with a more reflective 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 builds gradually from interest to seriousness, 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, mentally rich story with a more significant twist".
"DeepSeek composed a good story however lacked stress and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the evident choice."
Opinions, however, differ.
Chen thinks that Qwen2.5 does not carry out as highly as DeepSeek and ChatGPT when it pertains to imaginative writing.
"(Qwen2.5) is on par with DeepSeek V3 on certain tasks, but we can likewise see that it is refraining from doing as strongly as others in creative writing," he told CNA.
Related:
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As reporters and writers, we needed to see this for ourselves so we put each bot to the test - to come up with a standard sci-fi film plot embeded in the futuristic megacity of Chongqing, including main characters from the timeless Chinese folklore impressive, Journey to the West.
True to form, DeepSeek developed an appealing story 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 skyscrapers", "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 "a sarcastic, self-aware AI housed in a stolen fight body", Zhu Bajie as a cyborg club owner "drowning in financial obligation and vices" and Sha Wujing as a "silent hulking android" from the Yangtze River, whose "memory cores become waterlogged and fragmented".
ChatGPT installed a good battle, creating an equally significant cyberpunk storyline which likewise reimagined "a ragteam of cyber-enhanced misfits, each matching the legendary figures of Journey to the West".
"This is a world where AI deities guideline, corporations change emperors and cybernetic implants are as typical as ancient myths."
Disappointingly, Qwen2.5 fell short in this obstacle - providing a storyline that seemed more fit for an animation film.
"The movie begins with the awakening of Sun Wukong within a modern research study facility located in the heart of Chongqing," it said, then going on to explain the following:
Realising his brand-new reality and "seeking to comprehend his function in this odd brand-new world", he then leaves and meets Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - "each fighting with their own existential crises".
The trio then starts a quest, navigating the streets of Chongqing to secure the sacred "Eternal Scroll" from falling under the wrong hands.
SO WHICH IS BETTER?
Dr Zhang kept in mind that it was "hard 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 data and hardware optimization".
Her insight underscores how Chinese AI models are not just duplicating Western paradigms, hb9lc.org however rather evolving in cost-effective innovation methods - and delivering localised and improved results.
In our tests, each bot showcased their own distinct strengths, which certainly made challenging.
DeepSeek's sci-fi motion picture plot showed its creative flair that made for a more appealing and imaginative narrative as compared to Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT's efforts.
Unsurprisingly, the more recognized ChatGPT, unburdened by Chinese censorship constraints, supplies precise and accurate actions to concerns about Chinese current occasions, which provides it an included advantage.
Experts also weighed in on their ideas after using DeepSeek and other Chinese AI apps.
"DeepSeek is at a disadvantage when it pertains to censorship constraints," noted Isaac Stone Fish, archmageriseswiki.com founder and CEO of the research study company Strategy Risks.
"When given a choice, Chinese users want the non-censored version - much like anyone else, so I feel 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 per cent of individuals utilizing the tool are not attempting to get a deeper understanding about Xi Jinping or politically delicate topics. They're using it for other efficient ways," Chen said.
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How do Chinese aI Bots Stack up Against ChatGPT?
prestondelee1 edited this page 2025-04-09 07:33:58 +00:00