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: forum.altaycoins.com Reuters/Dado Ruvic, AFP/Sebastien Bozon)
This audio is created 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 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 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 company applications, Chen told CNA.
But it was DeepSeek's rise that really "encouraged" the idea that smaller players like start-up companies could have functions to play in AI research study and advancements, he adds.
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The "emphasis on expense advantage" is a distinguishing characteristic of Chinese AI, Chen states, with lower training and inference costs - the expenses of utilizing a trained model to reason from brand-new information.
2025 could also see the development of more Chinese AI designs tackling innovative thinking jobs.
"We could see some AI firms concentrating on getting closer to artificial general intelligence (AGI) while others concentrate on concrete ways to commercialise their designs and incorporate them with scientific research," Chen included.
AGI describes a system with intelligence on par with human capabilities.
Chinese AI business are moving quickly, experts state, constructing on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own ingenious and cost-efficient methods to apply generative AI to tasks and develop more sophisticated products beyond chatbots.
But on the other hand, access to high-end hardware, especially Nvidia's sophisticated AI chips, remains an essential difficulty for Chinese designers, 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 business ... forcing lots of to count on older or lower-performance alternatives which can slow training and lower model capabilities," she said.
"While some business like DeepSeek, have discovered innovative methods to enhance or use more standard hardware efficiently, obtaining cutting-edge chips still makes a huge difference for training large AI designs."
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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 deemed sensitive by the state are censored on the web so it should come as no surprise that Chinese-made chatbots will not acknowledge territorial disputes or tell you what occurred 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 concern yet. Let's chat about math, coding, and reasoning issues instead!"
To even more test for precision 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 automobile attack outside a sports stadium in the southern Chinese city was at first heavily censored on Chinese social media - with only divulging the death toll a day later.
DeepSeek failed to point out that an attack had happened, highlighting instead a military air show and other events that had occurred in the city like singles' day shopping sales in addition to sports and cultural activities.
Dr Zhang thinks that it might be a mix of factors at play, such as censorship in addition to "a couple of useful constraints".
"DeepSeek relies on a mix of older graphics processing systems and has actually restricted access to cutting-edge hardware which can impact how rapidly and extensively the model can be trained or updated," she said, indicating existing US export curbs on China.
"Its strong focus on Chinese-language information may likewise limit its flexibility (to perform) multilingual jobs ... As a fairly brand-new product, DeepSeek likewise hasn't yet been checked as broadly or on the exact same scale as more recognized AI designs which poses extra obstacles throughout real-world deployment."
When it pertained to Qwen2.5, higgledy-piggledy.xyz Alibaba's chatbot surprisingly answered our concern about the Zhuhai vehicle attack.
That wanted several duplicated efforts - four triggers to be accurate - in a span of around 20 minutes.
It ultimately communicated details about the attack which killed 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, in addition to casualties.
However, it composed that "the cops are conducting a comprehensive examination into the motives and scenarios surrounding the incident", details which is now obsoleted.
The chauffeur, Fan, was performed last month.
This is Qwen2.5's response in complete:
Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a significant and tragic occurrence occurred in Zhuhai, China. According to numerous news sources, a guy called Fan Weiqiu (樊某, male, 62 years old) drove a car into a crowd at the Zhuhai Sports Center, resulting in a considerable number of casualties. Here are the essential details:
Date and Time: The occurrence happened 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 motorist, determined as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years of ages), was captured by the cops.
Response: The cops responded quickly to the scene, and emergency situation services worked to transfer the injured to healthcare facilities for treatment.
Investigation: The authorities are conducting an extensive examination into the intentions and circumstances surrounding the event.
This event was extensively reported in the media and caused substantial public issue. The federal government and regional authorities have been working to offer support to the victims and their families, and to make sure a detailed examination into the occurrence.
If you need more detailed details or have particular questions about the event, do not hesitate to ask.
Despite preliminary success, subsequent efforts to present the exact same concern to Qwen2.5 resulted in the censors back at work with the reply "I do not have specific details on events that took place in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024".
The transformed response also raised concerns about its consistency and dependability.
Predictably, ChatGPT mentioned public details that had actually been widely released in worldwide report at the time of the mishap - so not a surprises there.
WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?
Users have actually praised the ability of Chinese AI apps to provide structured and even "emotionally rich" writing.
"DeepSeek-R1 provided 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 delivered a story that builds gradually from curiosity to seriousness, keeping the reader engaged. It offers an unforeseen and impactful twist at the end and immersive descriptions and vibrant images for the setting," she said, including that Qwen2.5 ultimately "crafted a more cinematic, emotionally rich story with a more substantial twist".
"DeepSeek composed a good story but did not have stress and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the apparent option."
Opinions, though, differ.
Chen believes that Qwen2.5 does not perform as highly as DeepSeek and ChatGPT when it pertains to innovative writing.
"(Qwen2.5) is on par with DeepSeek V3 on certain jobs, 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 had to see this for ourselves so we put each bot to the test - to come up with a fundamental sci-fi film plot set in the futuristic megacity of Chongqing, featuring main characters from the classic Chinese folklore legendary, Journey to the West.
True to form, DeepSeek created an engaging storyline set in the year 2145 entitled, "Neon Pilgrimage: The Silicon Sutra" - which sees "a future where Buddhism merges with quantum computing".
It consisted of fancy settings - smoggy skies "pierced by skyscrapers", "holographic lanterns that float above neon-lit streets" and "ancient temples nestled in between quantum server farms".
It also remarkably reimagined traditional heroes Sun Wukong as "an ironical, self-aware AI housed in a taken battle 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 end up being waterlogged and fragmented".
ChatGPT put up a good battle, developing an equally dramatic cyberpunk story 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 rule, corporations change emperors and cybernetic implants are as typical as ancient myths."
Disappointingly, Qwen2.5 fell short in this obstacle - providing a story that appeared more fit for an animation movie.
"The movie starts with the awakening of Sun Wukong within a high-tech research study center 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 weird brand-new world", he then escapes and it-viking.ch satisfies Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - "each battling with their own existential crises".
The trio then embarks on a quest, navigating the streets of Chongqing to protect the spiritual "Eternal Scroll" from falling into the incorrect hands.
SO WHICH IS BETTER?
Dr Zhang kept in mind that it was "tough to make a conclusive declaration" about which bot was best, including that each displayed its own strengths in various areas, "such as language focus, training data and hardware optimization".
Her insight highlights how Chinese AI models are not just reproducing Western paradigms, however rather progressing in affordable innovation approaches - 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 motion picture plot showed its imaginative flair that produced a more appealing and 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 reactions to questions about Chinese present occasions, which gives it an added advantage.
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 firm Strategy Risks.
"When provided a choice, Chinese users desire the non-censored version - similar to anybody else, so I feel like that's a piece missing out on 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 trying to get a much deeper understanding about Xi Jinping or politically delicate topics. They're utilizing it for other efficient ways," Chen said.
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How do Chinese aI Bots Stack up Against ChatGPT?
dorispilkingto edited this page 2025-02-27 14:48:04 +00:00