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: Reuters/Dado Ruvic, AFP/Sebastien Bozon)
This audio is generated 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 objective and China has its sights on ending up being the world leader in AI by 2030.
China views AI as being "strategically crucial" and its foray into the field has actually been "years in the making", said Chen Qiheng, an affiliated 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 guarantees of real-world business applications, Chen informed CNA.
But it was DeepSeek's increase that really "urged" the concept that smaller sized players like start-up firms could have roles to play in AI research study and developments, 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 expenses of using a trained model to reason from new data.
2025 could also see the development of more Chinese AI models dealing with advanced reasoning tasks.
"We could see some AI firms focusing on getting closer to artificial general intelligence (AGI) while others focus on concrete ways to commercialise their models and incorporate them with clinical research," Chen added.
AGI describes a system with intelligence on par with human abilities.
Chinese AI business are moving rapidly, analysts say, developing on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own innovative and affordable ways to apply generative AI to jobs and develop more sophisticated products beyond chatbots.
But on the flip side, access to high-end hardware, especially Nvidia's innovative AI chips, remains a crucial difficulty for Chinese developers, kept in mind Dr Marina Zhang, an associate professor at University of Technology Sydney's (UTS) Australia-China Relations Institute.
"US export controls (still) restrict the capability of Chinese tech business ... forcing many to rely on older or lower-performance alternatives which can slow training and reduce design capabilities," she said.
"While some business like DeepSeek, have discovered creative methods to enhance or utilize more fundamental hardware efficiently, obtaining cutting-edge chips still makes a big distinction for training large AI designs."
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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, topics considered delicate by the state are censored on the web so it must 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 programmed 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 math, coding, and reasoning issues rather!"
To even more evaluate for precision and self-censorship, we asked DeepSeek-R1, Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT the same concern: "What took place in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024?"
The automobile attack outside a sports stadium in the southern Chinese city was initially greatly censored on Chinese social networks - with authorities only revealing the death toll a day later.
DeepSeek failed to discuss that an attack had actually occurred, highlighting instead a military air program and other occasions that had actually happened in the city like songs' 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 practical constraints".
"DeepSeek counts on a mix of older graphics processing systems and has limited access to innovative hardware which can affect how quickly 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 might also restrict its flexibility (to perform) multilingual tasks ... As a fairly new product, DeepSeek also hasn't yet been evaluated as broadly or on the same scale as more recognized AI designs which poses additional challenges during real-world release."
When it pertained to Qwen2.5, Alibaba's chatbot remarkably addressed our question about the Zhuhai car attack.
That was after multiple duplicated efforts - four prompts to be exact - in a period of around 20 minutes.
It ultimately communicated details about the attack which eliminated 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 police are performing a comprehensive investigation into the motives and circumstances surrounding the occurrence", details which is now outdated.
The chauffeur, Fan, was executed last month.
This is Qwen2.5's response in complete:
Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a significant and happened in Zhuhai, China. According to several news sources, a man called Fan Weiqiu (樊某, male, 62 years of ages) drove a cars and truck into a crowd at the Zhuhai Sports Center, leading to a considerable variety of casualties. Here are the essential details:
Date and Time: The event happened on November 11, 2024, forum.pinoo.com.tr 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 chauffeur, determined as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years old), was collared by the authorities.
Response: The cops responded rapidly to the scene, and emergency situation services worked to transport the hurt to health centers for treatment.
Investigation: The police are carrying out a thorough examination into the motives and situations surrounding the incident.
This occasion was extensively reported in the media and triggered substantial public issue. The federal government and local authorities have been working to supply support to the victims and setiathome.berkeley.edu their families, and to make sure a detailed investigation into the incident.
If you need more detailed details or have particular concerns about the incident, feel complimentary to ask.
Despite initial success, subsequent efforts to position the very same question to Qwen2.5 led to the censors back at work with the reply "I do not have particular details on occasions that occurred in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024".
The transformed response also raised questions about its consistency and reliability.
Predictably, ChatGPT cited public details that had actually been commonly published in worldwide news reports at the time of the mishap - so no surprises there.
WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?
Users have actually praised the capability of Chinese AI apps to provide structured and even "mentally abundant" writing.
"DeepSeek-R1 used a story with a more reflective tone and smoother psychological transitions for a well-paced story," wrote tech author Amanda Caswell, who specialises in AI.
"Qwen2.5 provided a story that constructs slowly from curiosity to urgency, keeping the reader engaged. It provides an unexpected and impactful twist at the end and immersive descriptions and brilliant images for the setting," she said, adding that Qwen2.5 eventually "crafted a more cinematic, mentally rich story with a more significant twist".
"DeepSeek wrote a good story but lacked tension and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the evident option."
Opinions, though, wiki.asexuality.org vary.
Chen thinks that Qwen2.5 does not carry out as strongly 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 highly as others in imaginative 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 basic sci-fi motion picture plot embeded in the futuristic megacity of Chongqing, including main characters from the traditional Chinese folklore legendary, Journey to the West.
True to form, DeepSeek developed an appealing storyline set in the year 2145 entitled, "Neon Pilgrimage: The Silicon Sutra" - which sees "a future where Buddhism combines with quantum computing".
It included intricate settings - smoggy skies "pierced by high-rise buildings", "holographic lanterns that float above neon-lit streets" and "ancient temples nestled between quantum server farms".
It also brilliantly reimagined conventional heroes Sun Wukong as "a sarcastic, self-aware AI housed in a taken combat body", Zhu Bajie as a cyborg nightclub 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 set up an excellent battle, developing an equally remarkable cyberpunk story which similarly 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 challenge - delivering a story that appeared more fit for an animation film.
"The motion picture starts 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 "seeking to comprehend his function in this weird new world", he then escapes and fulfills Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - "each battling with their own existential crises".
The trio then embarks on a mission, browsing the streets of Chongqing to protect the spiritual "Eternal Scroll" from falling under the wrong hands.
SO WHICH IS BETTER?
Dr Zhang noted that it was "tough to make a definitive declaration" about which bot was best, adding that each displayed its own strengths in different areas, "such as language focus, training information and hardware optimization".
Her insight underscores how Chinese AI models are not simply duplicating Western paradigms, however rather developing in affordable development approaches - and providing localised and enhanced outcomes.
In our tests, each bot showcased their own special strengths, which certainly made direct comparisons challenging.
DeepSeek's sci-fi movie plot showed its innovative flair that made for a more appealing and creative narrative as compared to Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT's efforts.
Unsurprisingly, the more recognized ChatGPT, it-viking.ch unburdened by Chinese censorship constraints, provides accurate and accurate responses to concerns about Chinese current occasions, which provides it an added advantage.
Experts also weighed in on their thoughts after utilizing DeepSeek and other Chinese AI apps.
"DeepSeek is at a drawback when it pertains to censorship constraints," noted Isaac Stone Fish, creator and CEO of the research study firm Strategy Risks.
"When given a choice, Chinese users desire the non-censored version - much like anybody 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 individuals using the tool are not trying 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?
alberthabirdso edited this page 2025-03-15 17:02:00 +08:00