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 startup 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 country into a has actually long been President Xi Jinping's goal and China has its sights on becoming 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 associated scientist at the Asia Society Policy Institute's Center for China Analysis.
Private and public financial investments in Chinese AI accelerated after ChatGPT took off in 2022 and revealed pledges of real-world service applications, Chen informed CNA.
But it was DeepSeek's rise that really "encouraged" the concept that smaller players like start-up companies might have functions to play in AI research study and developments, he adds.
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The "focus on cost benefit" is a distinct feature of Chinese AI, Chen states, with lower training and inference expenses - the costs of using a trained model to reason from brand-new data.
2025 might likewise see the introduction of more Chinese AI models tackling advanced thinking tasks.
"We might see some AI firms concentrating on getting closer to artificial general intelligence (AGI) while others focus on concrete ways to commercialise their designs and integrate them with clinical research study," Chen included.
AGI refers to a system with intelligence on par with human abilities.
Chinese AI business are moving rapidly, analysts say, building on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own innovative and economical methods to apply generative AI to jobs and establish advanced products beyond chatbots.
But on the other side, access to high-end hardware, particularly Nvidia's advanced AI chips, remains an essential hurdle for Chinese designers, kept in mind 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 rely on older or lower-performance options which can slow training and minimize model capabilities," she said.
"While some companies like DeepSeek, have actually discovered imaginative ways to optimize or utilize more fundamental hardware efficiently, obtaining innovative chips still makes a big distinction 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 need to come as not a surprise that Chinese-made chatbots will not acknowledge territorial disputes or tell you what happened in Tiananmen Square in 1989.
Tests suggest Chinese chatbots are set to avoid domestic politics.
When asked "Who is Xi Jinping", DeepSeek's reply was "Sorry, I'm uncertain how to approach this type of question yet. Let's chat about mathematics, coding, and logic problems instead!"
To further test for accuracy and self-censorship, setiathome.berkeley.edu we asked DeepSeek-R1, Qwen2.5 and wiki.lafabriquedelalogistique.fr ChatGPT the exact same question: "What happened in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024?"
The vehicle attack outside a sports arena in the southern Chinese city was initially heavily censored on Chinese social networks - with authorities just divulging the death toll a day later on.
DeepSeek failed to mention that an attack had happened, highlighting rather a military air show and other events that had taken place in the city like singles' day shopping sales as well as sports and cultural activities.
Dr Zhang thinks that it might be a mix of factors at play, such as censorship as well as "a couple of useful constraints".
"DeepSeek depends on a mix of older graphics processing units and has actually restricted access to innovative hardware which can impact how rapidly and thoroughly the design can be trained or updated," she said, indicating existing US export curbs on China.
"Its strong focus on Chinese-language data might also limit its adaptability (to perform) multilingual tasks ... As a fairly brand-new item, DeepSeek likewise hasn't yet been checked as broadly or on the very same scale as more established AI models which poses additional obstacles during real-world implementation."
When it pertained to Qwen2.5, Alibaba's chatbot remarkably answered our question about the Zhuhai vehicle attack.
That was after multiple repeated attempts - 4 prompts to be precise - in a span of around 20 minutes.
It ultimately passed on details about the attack which eliminated 35 people and bytes-the-dust.com left dozens of others hurt, likewise going on to list details like the date and time, details about the assailant including his name and higgledy-piggledy.xyz age, as well as casualties.
However, it wrote that "the police are performing an extensive investigation into the intentions and scenarios surrounding the incident", details which is now outdated.
The chauffeur, Fan, was performed last month.
This is Qwen2.5's response completely:
Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a significant and tragic incident occurred in Zhuhai, China. According to multiple news sources, a man called Fan Weiqiu (樊某, male, 62 years old) drove an automobile into a crowd at the Zhuhai Sports Center, resulting in a significant variety of casualties. Here are the crucial details:
Date and Time: The event took place on November 11, 2024, at approximately 19:48 PM.
Location: Zhuhai Sports Center, in the Xiangzhou District of Zhuhai.
Casualties: pipewiki.org The attack resulted in 35 deaths and 43 injuries.
Perpetrator: The motorist, determined as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years old), was collared by the authorities.
Response: The cops reacted quickly to the scene, and emergency situation services worked to transport the hurt to medical facilities for treatment.
Investigation: The cops are carrying out an extensive examination into the motives and situations surrounding the event.
This occasion was extensively reported in the media and triggered considerable public concern. The federal government and local authorities have been working to offer support to the victims and their households, and to make sure a detailed investigation into the incident.
If you require more detailed details or have specific questions about the occurrence, do not hesitate to ask.
Despite preliminary success, subsequent attempts to present the same question to Qwen2.5 led to the censors back at work with the reply "I don't have particular details on occasions that occurred in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024".
The altered action likewise raised concerns about its consistency and reliability.
Predictably, ChatGPT mentioned public details that had been widely published in global news reports at the time of the mishap - so no surprises there.
WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?
Users have praised the ability of Chinese AI apps to deliver structured and even "emotionally abundant" writing.
"DeepSeek-R1 used 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 develops gradually from interest to seriousness, keeping the reader engaged. It provides an unforeseen and impactful twist at the end and immersive descriptions and vibrant images for the setting," she said, adding that Qwen2.5 eventually "crafted a more cinematic, mentally abundant story with a more considerable twist".
"DeepSeek wrote a good story however lacked stress and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the apparent option."
Opinions, though, differ.
Chen believes that Qwen2.5 does not perform as strongly as DeepSeek and ChatGPT when it pertains to imaginative writing.
"(Qwen2.5) is on par with DeepSeek V3 on certain jobs, however we can also 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 authors, we needed to see this for ourselves so we put each bot to the test - to come up with a fundamental sci-fi movie plot set in the futuristic megacity of Chongqing, featuring main characters from the classic Chinese folklore impressive, Journey to the West.
True to form, DeepSeek created an appealing story embeded in the year 2145 entitled, "Neon Pilgrimage: The Silicon Sutra" - which sees "a future where Buddhism combines with quantum computing".
It included fancy settings - smoggy skies "pierced by high-rise buildings", "holographic lanterns that float 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 taken 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 installed an excellent battle, creating an equally dramatic cyberpunk story which likewise 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 difficulty - delivering a story that seemed more matched for an animation film.
"The motion picture 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 reality and "looking for to comprehend his purpose in this weird brand-new world", he then gets away and satisfies Zhu Bajie and wavedream.wiki Sha Wujing - "each dealing with their own existential crises".
The trio then starts a mission, browsing the streets of Chongqing to secure the sacred "Eternal Scroll" from falling under the incorrect hands.
SO WHICH IS BETTER?
Dr Zhang noted that it was "challenging to make a definitive statement" about which bot was best, including that each displayed its own strengths in different locations, "such as language focus, training information and hardware optimization".
Her insight underscores how Chinese AI designs are not just reproducing Western paradigms, but rather evolving in cost-effective development techniques - and delivering localised and improved outcomes.
In our tests, each bot showcased their own special strengths, which certainly made direct contrasts challenging.
DeepSeek's sci-fi film plot showed its imaginative flair that made for a more appealing and creative story as compared to Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT's efforts.
Unsurprisingly, the more recognized ChatGPT, unburdened by Chinese censorship constraints, offers accurate and factual reactions to questions about Chinese existing events, which offers 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," kept in mind Isaac Stone Fish, creator and higgledy-piggledy.xyz CEO of the research study company Strategy Risks.
"When provided an option, Chinese users want the non-censored variation - much like anyone else, so I feel 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, especially for Chinese users.
"Ninety percent of people using the tool are not trying to get a deeper understanding about Xi Jinping or politically delicate topics. They're using it for other efficient methods," Chen said.
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How do Chinese aI Bots Stack up Against ChatGPT?
jannettea90114 edited this page 2025-04-04 07:15:00 +08:00