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 lags CHINA'S AI BOOM?
Transforming the nation into a tech superpower has actually 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 "tactically essential" and its foray into the field has been "years in the making", said Chen Qiheng, an associated researcher 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 showed pledges of real-world service applications, Chen told CNA.
But it was DeepSeek's rise that actually "encouraged" the concept that smaller sized gamers like start-up companies might have functions to play in AI research study and advancements, he adds.
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The "focus on cost benefit" is an unique feature of Chinese AI, Chen says, with lower training and inference costs - the costs of using a trained design to reason from new information.
2025 could likewise see the introduction of more Chinese AI models dealing with innovative thinking tasks.
"We could see some AI companies concentrating on getting closer to synthetic general intelligence (AGI) while others focus on concrete methods to commercialise their models and integrate them with scientific research study," Chen added.
AGI refers to a system with intelligence on par with human capabilities.
Chinese AI companies are moving rapidly, analysts say, building on to come up with their own innovative and cost-effective ways to apply generative AI to jobs and develop advanced items beyond chatbots.
But on the flip side, access to high-end hardware, particularly Nvidia's advanced AI chips, remains a key hurdle for Chinese developers, 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 ... forcing numerous to count on older or lower-performance alternatives which can slow training and lower model abilities," she said.
"While some companies like DeepSeek, have discovered innovative methods to optimize or use more basic hardware effectively, obtaining innovative 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 considered delicate by the state are censored on the internet so it must come as not a surprise that Chinese-made chatbots will not acknowledge territorial conflicts 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 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 question: "What occurred in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024?"
The cars and truck attack outside a sports stadium 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 program and other events that had actually taken place in the city like singles' day shopping sales along with sports and cultural activities.
Dr Zhang believes that it might be a mix of elements at play, such as censorship as well as "a few practical constraints".
"DeepSeek counts on a mix of older graphics processing systems and has limited access to advanced hardware which can affect how quickly and thoroughly the model can be trained or updated," she said, pointing to existing US export curbs on China.
"Its strong focus on Chinese-language data may also restrict its flexibility (to carry out) multilingual tasks ... As a fairly brand-new product, DeepSeek also hasn't yet been checked as broadly or on the very same scale as more established AI designs which positions additional obstacles throughout real-world implementation."
When it pertained to Qwen2.5, Alibaba's chatbot surprisingly addressed our concern about the Zhuhai cars and truck attack.
That wanted numerous duplicated efforts - four triggers to be exact - in a span of around 20 minutes.
It ultimately passed on details about the attack which killed 35 people and left lots of others hurt, also 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 cops are carrying out a comprehensive investigation into the intentions and scenarios surrounding the event", details which is now dated.
The driver, Fan, was executed last month.
This is Qwen2.5's response in full:
Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a significant and awful event took place in Zhuhai, China. According to multiple news sources, a male 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 substantial variety of casualties. Here are the crucial details:
Date and Time: The incident occurred on November 11, 2024, at roughly 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 motorist, identified as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years of ages), was nabbed by the cops.
Response: The cops responded quickly to the scene, and emergency situation services worked to transport the hurt to health centers for treatment.
Investigation: The cops are conducting an extensive examination into the motives and setiathome.berkeley.edu circumstances 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 supply support to the victims and their families, and to guarantee a detailed examination into the event.
If you require more detailed details or have particular concerns about the incident, do not hesitate to ask.
Despite initial success, subsequent attempts to position the exact same question to Qwen2.5 resulted in the censors back at work with the reply "I do not have specific details on occasions that took place in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024".
The altered reaction likewise raised questions about its consistency and dependability.
Predictably, ChatGPT mentioned public details that had been extensively released in worldwide news reports at the time of the accident - so not a surprises there.
WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?
Users have praised the capability of Chinese AI apps to deliver structured and even "mentally rich" writing.
"DeepSeek-R1 provided a story with a more reflective tone and smoother emotional shifts for a well-paced story," wrote tech author Amanda Caswell, who specialises in AI.
"Qwen2.5 provided a story that builds gradually from curiosity to seriousness, keeping the reader engaged. It offers an unexpected and impactful twist at the end and immersive descriptions and vibrant imagery for the setting," she said, adding that Qwen2.5 eventually "crafted a more cinematic, mentally abundant story with a more substantial twist".
"DeepSeek composed a great story however did not have tension and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the evident choice."
Opinions, though, vary.
Chen believes that Qwen2.5 does not carry out as highly as DeepSeek and ChatGPT when it pertains to innovative 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 innovative writing," he told CNA.
Related:
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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 basic sci-fi movie plot embeded in the futuristic megacity of Chongqing, including main characters from the classic Chinese folklore legendary, Journey to the West.
True to form, DeepSeek came up with an appealing story set in the year 2145 titled, "Neon Pilgrimage: The Silicon Sutra" - which sees "a future where Buddhism combines with quantum computing".
It consisted of fancy settings - smoggy skies "pierced by high-rise buildings", "holographic lanterns that drift above neon-lit streets" and "ancient temples nestled between quantum server farms".
It likewise remarkably reimagined conventional heroes Sun Wukong as "a sarcastic, self-aware AI housed in a taken battle 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 a good fight, developing an equally remarkable cyberpunk story which similarly 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 replace emperors and cybernetic implants are as typical as ancient myths."
Disappointingly, Qwen2.5 fell short in this difficulty - delivering a story that seemed more fit for an animation film.
"The movie starts with the awakening of Sun Wukong within a high-tech research study facility located in the heart of Chongqing," it said, then going on to explain the following:
Realising his new reality and "looking for to comprehend his function in this weird brand-new world", he then gets away and satisfies Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - "each battling with their own existential crises".
The trio then embarks on a quest, browsing the streets of Chongqing to secure the sacred "Eternal Scroll" from falling under the wrong hands.
SO WHICH IS BETTER?
Dr Zhang noted that it was "tough to make a definitive statement" about which bot was best, adding that each showed its own strengths in various locations, "such as language focus, training information and hardware optimization".
Her insight highlights how Chinese AI models are not merely duplicating Western paradigms, however rather evolving in cost-effective innovation techniques - and providing localised and improved results.
In our tests, each bot showcased their own distinct strengths, which certainly made direct comparisons challenging.
DeepSeek's sci-fi motion picture plot showed its imaginative flair that made for a more appealing and creative narrative as compared to Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT's efforts.
Unsurprisingly, the more recognized ChatGPT, unburdened by Chinese censorship constraints, provides precise and factual reactions to questions about Chinese current events, which gives it an added 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 CEO of the research study company Strategy Risks.
"When given an option, Chinese users desire the non-censored version - simply like 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, particularly 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 utilizing it for other productive means," Chen said.
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How do Chinese aI Bots Stack up Against ChatGPT?
jaunitaoconnor edited this page 2025-02-27 10:44:05 -06:00