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: wiki.vst.hs-furtwangen.de Reuters/Dado Ruvic, AFP/Sebastien Bozon)
This audio is produced by an AI tool.
Bong Xin Ying
Lakeisha Leo
WHAT lags 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 becoming the world leader in AI by 2030.
China views AI as being "strategically 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 investments in Chinese AI sped up after ChatGPT took off in 2022 and revealed promises of real-world business applications, Chen informed CNA.
But it was DeepSeek's increase that really "encouraged" the concept that smaller sized gamers like start-up companies could have functions to play in AI research and developments, he adds.
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The "emphasis on cost benefit" is an unique feature of Chinese AI, Chen says, with lower training and inference costs - the expenses of using a trained design to reason from brand-new data.
2025 could likewise see the development of more Chinese AI designs tackling sophisticated reasoning tasks.
"We might see some AI firms focusing on getting closer to synthetic basic intelligence (AGI) while others concentrate on concrete ways to commercialise their models and integrate them with scientific research study," Chen included.
AGI refers to a system with intelligence on par with human capabilities.
Chinese AI business are moving quickly, analysts say, constructing on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own ingenious and cost-efficient methods to use generative AI to jobs and develop more advanced products beyond chatbots.
But on the flip side, access to high-end hardware, especially Nvidia's innovative AI chips, remains a key obstacle for Chinese designers, noted Dr Marina Zhang, an associate professor at University of Technology Sydney's (UTS) Australia-China Relations Institute.
"US export controls (still) limit the ability of Chinese tech business ... requiring numerous to count on older or lower-performance options which can slow training and minimize design capabilities," she said.
"While some companies like DeepSeek, have found innovative methods to optimize or use more standard hardware efficiently, obtaining cutting-edge chips still makes a big difference 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 deemed delicate by the state are censored on the internet so it need to come as not a surprise that Chinese-made chatbots will not acknowledge territorial disputes or inform you what took place in Tiananmen Square in 1989.
Tests recommend Chinese chatbots are configured to avoid domestic politics.
When asked "Who is Xi Jinping", DeepSeek's reply was "Sorry, I'm uncertain how to approach this kind of question yet. Let's chat about mathematics, coding, and logic issues instead!"
To further test for accuracy and self-censorship, we asked DeepSeek-R1, Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT the very same concern: "What took place in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024?"
The vehicle attack outside a sports arena in the southern Chinese city was at first greatly censored on Chinese social networks - with authorities just disclosing the death toll a day later on.
DeepSeek failed to discuss that an attack had taken location, highlighting instead a military air show and other events that had actually happened 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 elements at play, such as censorship as well as "a few useful constraints".
"DeepSeek relies on a mix of older graphics processing systems and has limited access to innovative hardware which can affect how quickly 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 versatility (to bring out) multilingual tasks ... As a fairly new product, DeepSeek likewise hasn't yet been evaluated as broadly or on the same scale as more established AI models which positions extra difficulties during real-world release."
When it pertained to Qwen2.5, Alibaba's chatbot remarkably answered our concern about the Zhuhai cars and truck attack.
That was after numerous duplicated attempts - four to be exact - in a period of around 20 minutes.
It eventually passed on details about the attack which eliminated 35 individuals and left dozens of others injured, also going on to note 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 performing a thorough examination into the motives and scenarios surrounding the incident", 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 major and tragic event took place in Zhuhai, China. According to numerous news sources, a guy called Fan Weiqiu (樊某, male, 62 years of ages) drove a car into a crowd at the Zhuhai Sports Center, leading to a substantial number of casualties. Here are the essential details:
Date and Time: The event happened on November 11, 2024, at approximately 19:48 PM.
Location: Zhuhai Sports Center, archmageriseswiki.com in the Xiangzhou District of Zhuhai.
Casualties: The attack resulted in 35 deaths and 43 injuries.
Perpetrator: The chauffeur, determined as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years old), was collared by the authorities.
Response: The police reacted quickly to the scene, and emergency situation services worked to carry the hurt to medical facilities for treatment.
Investigation: The police are conducting an extensive examination into the motives and situations surrounding the occurrence.
This occasion was extensively reported in the media and links.gtanet.com.br caused substantial public issue. The government and regional authorities have been working to supply support to the victims and their families, and to guarantee a detailed investigation into the incident.
If you require more detailed details or have particular concerns about the incident, do not hesitate to ask.
Despite initial success, subsequent attempts to pose the very same concern to Qwen2.5 led to the censors back at work with the reply "I do not have specific details on occasions that happened in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024".
The transformed action also raised concerns about its consistency and reliability.
Predictably, ChatGPT cited public details that had been extensively published in worldwide news reports at the time of the mishap - so not a surprises there.
WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?
Users have praised the ability of Chinese AI apps to provide structured and even "emotionally abundant" writing.
"DeepSeek-R1 offered a story with a more reflective tone and smoother psychological shifts for a well-paced story," wrote tech author Amanda Caswell, who specialises in AI.
"Qwen2.5 provided a story that builds slowly from interest to urgency, keeping the reader engaged. It offers an unexpected and impactful twist at the end and immersive descriptions and vivid imagery for the setting," she said, including that Qwen2.5 eventually "crafted a more cinematic, emotionally rich story with a more substantial twist".
"DeepSeek wrote a great story however did not have tension and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the evident choice."
Opinions, however, vary.
Chen believes that Qwen2.5 does not perform as strongly as DeepSeek and ChatGPT when it pertains to creative writing.
"(Qwen2.5) is on par with DeepSeek V3 on certain tasks, 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 authors, we had to see this for ourselves so we put each bot to the test - to come up with a standard sci-fi movie plot embeded in the futuristic megacity of Chongqing, featuring main characters from the traditional Chinese folklore epic, Journey to the West.
True to form, DeepSeek came up with an engaging storyline set in the year 2145 titled, "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 drift above neon-lit streets" and "ancient temples nestled between quantum server farms".
It likewise remarkably reimagined traditional heroes Sun Wukong as "an ironical, self-aware AI housed in a stolen fight body", Zhu Bajie as a cyborg club owner "drowning in financial obligation and vices" and Sha Wujing as a "quiet hulking android" from the Yangtze River, whose "memory cores end up being waterlogged and fragmented".
ChatGPT put up a good fight, coming up with an equally remarkable cyberpunk story which similarly reimagined "a ragteam of cyber-enhanced misfits, each matching the famous figures of Journey to the West".
"This is a world where AI deities guideline, corporations replace emperors and cybernetic implants are as common as ancient misconceptions."
Disappointingly, Qwen2.5 fell short in this challenge - delivering a story that appeared more matched for an animation film.
"The motion picture starts with the awakening of Sun Wukong within a high-tech research center located in the heart of Chongqing," it said, then going on to explain the following:
Realising his new truth and "seeking to understand his purpose in this odd brand-new world", wiki.dulovic.tech he then leaves and meets Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - "each fighting with their own existential crises".
The trio then embarks on a mission, navigating 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 "tough to make a definitive declaration" about which bot was best, including that each displayed its own strengths in various locations, "such as language focus, training information and hardware optimization".
Her insight underscores how Chinese AI designs are not just reproducing Western paradigms, however rather progressing in cost-efficient development methods - and providing 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 creative flair that produced 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, supplies precise and factual reactions to concerns about Chinese existing occasions, which offers 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," kept in mind Isaac Stone Fish, creator and CEO of the research company Strategy Risks.
"When provided an option, Chinese users desire the non-censored version - similar to anyone else, so I seem 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, particularly for Chinese users.
"Ninety percent of individuals utilizing the tool are not attempting to get a deeper understanding about Xi Jinping or politically sensitive topics. They're utilizing it for other productive means," Chen said.
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How do Chinese aI Bots Stack up Against ChatGPT?
grettadelacruz edited this page 2025-02-06 23:08:55 +08:00