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 produced by an AI tool.
Bong Xin Ying
Lakeisha Leo
WHAT'S BEHIND 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 important" and its venture into the field has actually 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 investments in Chinese AI accelerated after ChatGPT removed in 2022 and showed promises of real-world company applications, Chen informed CNA.
But it was DeepSeek's rise that truly "urged" the idea that smaller sized gamers like start-up companies might have roles to play in AI research study and advancements, he adds.
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The "focus on cost advantage" is a distinguishing characteristic of Chinese AI, Chen says, with lower training and reasoning expenses - the costs of using a trained model to reason from new data.
2025 might also see the development of more Chinese AI models tackling advanced thinking jobs.
"We might see some AI companies focusing on getting closer to synthetic basic intelligence (AGI) while others concentrate on concrete methods to commercialise their designs and incorporate them with scientific research," Chen included.
AGI refers to 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 economical ways to use generative AI to jobs and establish advanced products beyond chatbots.
But on the flip side, access to high-end hardware, particularly Nvidia's sophisticated AI chips, remains an essential obstacle 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 ability of Chinese tech companies ... requiring lots of to rely on older or lower-performance options which can slow training and reduce model abilities," she said.
"While some business like DeepSeek, have found creative methods to optimize or utilize more basic hardware efficiently, obtaining innovative chips still makes a big distinction for training huge 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, subjects considered delicate by the state are censored on the internet so it need to come as no surprise that Chinese-made chatbots will not acknowledge territorial disagreements 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 logic issues rather!"
To even more check for precision and self-censorship, we asked DeepSeek-R1, Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT the exact same question: "What happened in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024?"
The car attack outside a sports arena in the southern Chinese city was at first greatly censored on Chinese social networks - with authorities just revealing the death toll a day later.
DeepSeek failed to point out that an attack had taken place, highlighting instead a military air program 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 as well as "a few useful constraints".
"DeepSeek counts on a mix of older graphics processing systems and has restricted access to advanced hardware which can impact how rapidly and thoroughly the model can be trained or upgraded," she said, indicating existing US export curbs on China.
"Its strong concentrate on Chinese-language information might also limit its adaptability (to perform) multilingual tasks ... As a fairly brand-new item, DeepSeek likewise hasn't yet been evaluated as broadly or on the same scale as more established AI designs which positions extra obstacles during real-world implementation."
When it pertained to Qwen2.5, Alibaba's chatbot remarkably addressed our concern about the Zhuhai automobile attack.
That was after several duplicated efforts - four prompts to be exact - in a span of around 20 minutes.
It ultimately relayed 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, along with casualties.
However, it composed that "the authorities are conducting a comprehensive examination into the intentions and situations surrounding the event", wiki.snooze-hotelsoftware.de details which is now obsoleted.
The motorist, Fan, was carried out last month.
This is Qwen2.5's reaction in full:
Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a major and tragic occurrence occurred in Zhuhai, China. According to numerous news sources, a man named Fan Weiqiu (樊某, male, 62 years old) drove an automobile into a crowd at the Zhuhai Sports Center, resulting in a considerable variety of casualties. Here are the essential details:
Date and Time: The occurrence happened on November 11, 2024, at roughly 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 nabbed by the authorities.
Response: The authorities responded quickly to the scene, and emergency services worked to transport the injured to healthcare facilities for treatment.
Investigation: The police are carrying out a thorough investigation into the motives and circumstances surrounding the occurrence.
This event was widely reported in the media and caused substantial public issue. The federal government and local authorities have actually been working to supply assistance to the victims and their households, and to guarantee a detailed examination into the event.
If you require more detailed details or have particular concerns about the event, do not hesitate to ask.
Despite initial success, subsequent efforts to position the very same question to Qwen2.5 resulted in the censors back at work with the reply "I don't have specific details on occasions that happened in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024".
The transformed response likewise raised concerns about its consistency and dependability.
Predictably, ChatGPT cited public details that had actually been commonly published in international report 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 provide structured and even "mentally rich" writing.
"DeepSeek-R1 provided a story with a more reflective tone and smoother emotional transitions for a well-paced story," wrote tech author Amanda Caswell, who specialises in AI.
"Qwen2.5 delivered a story that builds gradually from curiosity to urgency, 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 ultimately "crafted a more cinematic, mentally abundant story with a more significant twist".
"DeepSeek wrote a good story but did not have stress and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the evident choice."
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, but we can also see that it is refraining from doing as highly as others in creative writing," he told CNA.
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As journalists and authors, we needed to see this for ourselves so we put each bot to the test - to come up with a standard sci-fi movie plot set in the futuristic megacity of Chongqing, including main characters from the timeless Chinese folklore impressive, Journey to the West.
True to form, DeepSeek created an engaging storyline embeded in the year 2145 entitled, "Neon Pilgrimage: The Silicon Sutra" - which sees "a future where Buddhism combines with quantum computing".
It consisted of intricate settings - smoggy skies "pierced by skyscrapers", "holographic lanterns that float above neon-lit streets" and "ancient temples nestled in between quantum server farms".
It likewise standard heroes Sun Wukong as "a sarcastic, self-aware AI housed in a stolen combat body", Zhu Bajie as a cyborg nightclub owner "drowning in debt and vices" and Sha Wujing as a "silent hulking android" from the Yangtze River, whose "memory cores become waterlogged and fragmented".
ChatGPT set up a great battle, coming up with a similarly 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 guideline, corporations replace emperors and cybernetic implants are as typical as ancient misconceptions."
Disappointingly, Qwen2.5 fell short in this challenge - providing a story that seemed more fit for an animation movie.
"The film starts with the awakening of Sun Wukong within a high-tech research facility located in the heart of Chongqing," it said, then going on to explain the following:
Realising his brand-new truth and "seeking to comprehend his purpose in this strange new world", he then escapes and meets Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - "each dealing with their own existential crises".
The trio then starts a mission, browsing the streets of Chongqing to protect the spiritual "Eternal Scroll" from falling into the wrong hands.
SO WHICH IS BETTER?
Dr Zhang noted that it was "difficult to make a definitive declaration" about which bot was best, adding that each displayed its own strengths in various 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 affordable development approaches - and providing localised and enhanced results.
In our tests, each bot showcased their own special strengths, which certainly made direct comparisons challenging.
DeepSeek's sci-fi film plot demonstrated its imaginative flair that produced a more interesting and imaginative 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 concerns about Chinese current occasions, which provides it an added advantage.
Experts also weighed in on their thoughts after using DeepSeek and other Chinese AI apps.
"DeepSeek is at a disadvantage when it pertains to censorship constraints," noted Isaac Stone Fish, founder and CEO of the research firm Strategy Risks.
"When provided a choice, Chinese users desire the non-censored variation - much like anyone 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 individuals using the tool are not attempting to get a much deeper understanding about Xi Jinping or politically delicate subjects. They're using it for other productive means," Chen said.
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How do Chinese aI Bots Stack up Against ChatGPT?
Ann Cole edited this page 2025-02-17 11:57:30 +03:00