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 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 created 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 goal and China has its sights on ending up being 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 affiliated scientist at the Asia Society Policy Institute's Center for China Analysis.
Private and public financial investments in Chinese AI accelerated after ChatGPT removed in 2022 and showed promises of real-world business applications, Chen told CNA.
But it was DeepSeek's increase that really "encouraged" the idea that smaller sized gamers like start-up firms might have roles to play in AI research study and developments, he adds.
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The "focus on expense advantage" is an unique feature of Chinese AI, Chen states, with lower training and inference expenses - the expenses of utilizing a trained model to reason from new data.
2025 could also see the emergence of more Chinese AI designs tackling sophisticated reasoning jobs.
"We might see some AI companies concentrating on getting closer to artificial general intelligence (AGI) while others concentrate on concrete ways to commercialise their designs and integrate them with clinical research study," Chen added.
AGI describes a system with intelligence on par with human abilities.
Chinese AI business are moving rapidly, analysts say, developing on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own ingenious and cost-efficient methods to use generative AI to jobs and develop more sophisticated products beyond chatbots.
But on the flip side, access to high-end hardware, especially Nvidia's advanced AI chips, remains a key difficulty for 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 ... forcing numerous to rely on older or lower-performance alternatives which can slow training and reduce design capabilities," she said.
"While some business like DeepSeek, have actually found imaginative methods to enhance or use more basic hardware efficiently, obtaining advanced chips still makes a big difference for training large 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, subjects deemed delicate by the state are censored on the web so it should come as no surprise that Chinese-made chatbots will not acknowledge territorial disagreements or inform you what happened in Tiananmen Square in 1989.
Tests suggest Chinese chatbots are set to guide clear of domestic politics.
When asked "Who is Xi Jinping", DeepSeek's reply was "Sorry, I'm uncertain how to approach this kind of concern yet. Let's chat about math, coding, and logic problems instead!"
To even more evaluate for accuracy and self-censorship, we asked DeepSeek-R1, Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT the exact same concern: "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 greatly censored on Chinese social media - with authorities just divulging the death toll a day later on.
DeepSeek failed to mention that an attack had occurred, highlighting rather a military air program and other events that had actually happened in the city like songs' day shopping sales as well as sports and cultural activities.
Dr Zhang thinks that it may be a mix of elements at play, such as censorship as well as "a few practical constraints".
"DeepSeek relies on a mix of older graphics processing systems and has restricted access to advanced hardware which can impact how quickly and thoroughly the design can be trained or updated," she said, indicating existing US export curbs on China.
"Its strong focus on Chinese-language information might also restrict its flexibility (to perform) multilingual tasks ... As a fairly new item, DeepSeek likewise hasn't yet been checked as broadly or on the very same scale as more recognized AI models which poses extra difficulties throughout real-world deployment."
When it pertained to Qwen2.5, Alibaba's chatbot surprisingly addressed our concern about the Zhuhai car attack.
That wanted multiple repeated attempts - four triggers to be exact - in a period of around 20 minutes.
It eventually relayed details about the attack which eliminated 35 people and left lots of others hurt, likewise 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 cops are carrying out an extensive examination into the motives and situations surrounding the event", details which is now dated.
The chauffeur, Fan, was performed last month.
This is Qwen2.5's reaction completely:
Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a significant and tragic occurrence occurred in Zhuhai, China. According to several news sources, a man named Fan Weiqiu (樊某, male, 62 years of ages) drove a cars and truck into a crowd at the Zhuhai Sports Center, resulting in a significant variety of casualties. Here are the key details:
Date and Time: The occurrence took place on November 11, 2024, at approximately 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 driver, identified as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years of ages), was captured by the police.
Response: The authorities reacted rapidly to the scene, and emergency services worked to transport the hurt to healthcare facilities for treatment.
Investigation: The police are carrying out a thorough investigation into the motives and scenarios surrounding the incident.
This occasion was commonly reported in the media and caused significant public concern. The federal government and regional authorities have been working to provide assistance to the victims and their families, and to ensure a detailed investigation into the occurrence.
If you need more detailed details or have specific concerns about the occurrence, do not hesitate to ask.
Despite initial success, subsequent efforts to position the exact same concern to Qwen2.5 led to the censors back at work with the reply "I don't have specific details on events that occurred in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024".
The transformed reaction likewise raised questions about its consistency and reliability.
Predictably, ChatGPT cited public details that had been widely released in international news reports at the time of the mishap - so not a surprises there.
WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?
Users have praised the capability of Chinese AI apps to provide structured and even "emotionally rich" writing.
"DeepSeek-R1 offered a story with a more reflective tone and smoother psychological shifts 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 urgency, keeping the reader engaged. It uses an unexpected and impactful twist at the end and immersive descriptions and vibrant imagery for the setting," she said, wiki.asexuality.org adding that Qwen2.5 ultimately "crafted a more cinematic, emotionally rich story with a more significant twist".
"DeepSeek composed a great story but did not have stress and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the apparent option."
Opinions, however, vary.
Chen thinks that Qwen2.5 does not perform as strongly as DeepSeek and ChatGPT when it pertains to innovative writing.
"(Qwen2.5) is on par with DeepSeek V3 on certain jobs, however we can likewise see that it is refraining from doing as highly as others in creative writing," he told CNA.
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As reporters and authors, we had to see this for ourselves so we put each bot to the test - to come up with a fundamental sci-fi film plot embeded in the futuristic megacity of Chongqing, including main characters from the traditional Chinese folklore epic, pipewiki.org Journey to the West.
True to form, DeepSeek developed an appealing story set in the year 2145 entitled, "Neon Pilgrimage: The Silicon Sutra" - which sees "a future where Buddhism merges with quantum computing".
It included fancy settings - smoggy skies "pierced by high-rise buildings", "holographic lanterns that drift above neon-lit streets" and "ancient temples nestled in between quantum server farms".
It also brilliantly reimagined conventional heroes Sun Wukong as "a sarcastic, self-aware AI housed in a stolen fight 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 set up an excellent fight, creating a similarly significant cyberpunk storyline which similarly reimagined "a ragteam of cyber-enhanced misfits, each mirroring the legendary figures of Journey to the West".
"This is a world where AI deities rule, corporations replace emperors and cybernetic implants are as common as ancient misconceptions."
Disappointingly, Qwen2.5 fell short in this challenge - providing a storyline that appeared more fit for an animation movie.
"The movie begins with the awakening of Sun Wukong within a modern research study facility situated in the heart of Chongqing," it said, then going on to explain the following:
Realising his brand-new truth and "seeking to understand his purpose in this odd new world", he then escapes and satisfies Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - "each dealing with their own existential crises".
The trio then embarks on a quest, navigating the streets of Chongqing to secure the "Eternal Scroll" from falling into the incorrect hands.
SO WHICH IS BETTER?
Dr Zhang kept in mind that it was "tough to make a definitive declaration" about which bot was best, including that each displayed its own strengths in different areas, "such as language focus, training information and hardware optimization".
Her insight highlights how Chinese AI models are not simply duplicating Western paradigms, but rather evolving in cost-efficient innovation approaches - and delivering localised and enhanced results.
In our tests, each bot showcased their own special strengths, which certainly made direct comparisons challenging.
DeepSeek's sci-fi movie plot showed its innovative flair that made for a more engaging and imaginative story as compared to Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT's efforts.
Unsurprisingly, the more recognized ChatGPT, unburdened by Chinese censorship constraints, provides precise and engel-und-waisen.de accurate reactions to concerns about Chinese current events, which offers it an added benefit.
Experts also weighed in on their ideas after using DeepSeek and other Chinese AI apps.
"DeepSeek is at a drawback when it pertains to censorship constraints," kept in mind Isaac Stone Fish, creator and CEO of the research study company Strategy Risks.
"When offered an option, Chinese users want the non-censored variation - just like anybody else, so I feel like that's a piece missing from it."
Independent Beijing-based specialist Andy Chen Xinran said censorship would not be a dealbreaker when it pertains to AI bots, specifically for Chinese users.
"Ninety per cent of people using the tool are not attempting to get a deeper understanding about Xi Jinping or politically sensitive subjects. They're using it for other productive methods," Chen said.
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How do Chinese aI Bots Stack up Against ChatGPT?
Abdul Stansberry edited this page 2025-04-06 21:10:50 +08:00