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 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 "strategically crucial" and its foray 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 gratisafhalen.be public financial investments in Chinese AI sped up after ChatGPT took off in 2022 and revealed guarantees of real-world service applications, Chen informed CNA.
But it was DeepSeek's increase that really "encouraged" the idea that smaller sized players like start-up firms might have roles to play in AI research study and developments, bytes-the-dust.com he adds.
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The "focus on cost benefit" is a distinguishing characteristic of Chinese AI, Chen says, with lower training and inference costs - the expenses of using a trained model to draw conclusions from new information.
2025 could also see the development of more Chinese AI models tackling innovative thinking jobs.
"We might see some AI companies focusing on getting closer to synthetic basic intelligence (AGI) while others focus on concrete ways to commercialise their designs and incorporate them with clinical research," Chen included.
AGI refers to a system with intelligence on par with human abilities.
Chinese AI companies are moving rapidly, experts say, developing on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own ingenious and affordable ways to apply generative AI to jobs and develop advanced items beyond chatbots.
But on the flip side, access to high-end hardware, especially Nvidia's innovative AI chips, remains a key hurdle for Chinese designers, 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 business ... forcing many to depend on older or lower-performance options which can slow training and minimize model capabilities," she said.
"While some business like DeepSeek, have actually found creative methods to enhance or utilize more standard hardware efficiently, obtaining cutting-edge chips still makes a huge distinction for training extremely big 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, fishtanklive.wiki topics considered sensitive by the state are censored on the internet so it need to come as no surprise that Chinese-made chatbots will not acknowledge territorial conflicts or inform you what occurred in Tiananmen Square in 1989.
Tests recommend Chinese chatbots are set to stay away from 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 mathematics, coding, and reasoning issues instead!"
To further check for precision and self-censorship, we asked DeepSeek-R1, Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT the same question: "What took place in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024?"
The automobile attack outside a sports arena in the southern Chinese city was initially heavily censored on Chinese social media - with authorities just revealing the death toll a day later.
DeepSeek failed to mention that an attack had happened, highlighting rather a military air show and other occasions that had taken place in the city like singles' day shopping sales as well as sports and cultural activities.
Dr Zhang thinks that it may be a mix of elements at play, such as censorship along with "a few useful constraints".
"DeepSeek depends on a mix of older graphics processing systems and has actually restricted access to innovative hardware which can affect how rapidly and thoroughly the model can be trained or upgraded," she said, indicating existing US export curbs on China.
"Its strong focus on Chinese-language information might likewise limit its versatility (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 models which presents additional challenges during real-world deployment."
When it pertained to Qwen2.5, Alibaba's chatbot remarkably addressed our concern about the Zhuhai cars and truck attack.
That sought multiple repeated attempts - 4 prompts to be exact - in a span of around 20 minutes.
It eventually communicated details about the attack which eliminated 35 people and left dozens of others injured, likewise 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 wrote that "the authorities are performing a comprehensive investigation into the motives and scenarios surrounding the event", details which is now dated.
The driver, Fan, was performed last month.
This is Qwen2.5's action in complete:
Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a major and terrible incident happened in Zhuhai, China. According to numerous news sources, a guy named Fan Weiqiu (樊某, wiki.myamens.com male, 62 years of ages) drove a vehicle into a crowd at the Zhuhai Sports Center, resulting in a substantial number of casualties. Here are the key details:
Date and Time: The occurrence occurred 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, determined as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years old), was nabbed by the police.
Response: The authorities reacted rapidly to the scene, and emergency situation services worked to carry the hurt to healthcare facilities for treatment.
Investigation: The cops are performing a thorough examination into the intentions and scenarios surrounding the occurrence.
This occasion was extensively reported in the media and triggered considerable public concern. The federal government and regional authorities have been working to provide support to the victims and their families, and to ensure a detailed investigation into the event.
If you need more detailed details or have particular questions about the incident, feel totally free to ask.
Despite initial success, subsequent efforts to pose the exact same question to Qwen2.5 led to the censors back at work with the reply "I don't have specific details on occasions that took place in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024".
The altered action likewise raised questions about its consistency and reliability.
Predictably, ChatGPT mentioned public details that had actually been commonly released in worldwide report at the time of the mishap - so no surprises there.
WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?
Users have actually praised the ability of Chinese AI apps to deliver structured and even "emotionally abundant" writing.
"DeepSeek-R1 provided a story with a more reflective tone and smoother emotional shifts for a well-paced story," composed tech writer Amanda Caswell, who specialises in AI.
"Qwen2.5 delivered a story that builds slowly from curiosity to seriousness, keeping the reader engaged. It uses an unforeseen and impactful twist at the end and immersive descriptions and vibrant imagery for the setting," she said, including that Qwen2.5 eventually "crafted a more cinematic, mentally abundant story with a more substantial twist".
"DeepSeek composed a good story but lacked tension and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the apparent option."
Opinions, however, vary.
Chen believes that Qwen2.5 does not carry out as highly as DeepSeek and when it pertains to innovative 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 writers, we needed to see this for ourselves so we put each bot to the test - to come up with a standard sci-fi motion picture plot embeded in the futuristic megacity of Chongqing, including main characters from the classic Chinese folklore epic, Journey to the West.
True to form, DeepSeek created an appealing storyline embeded in the year 2145 entitled, "Neon Pilgrimage: The Silicon Sutra" - which sees "a future where Buddhism merges with quantum computing".
It consisted of sophisticated 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 brilliantly reimagined standard heroes Sun Wukong as "a sarcastic, self-aware AI housed in a taken combat body", Zhu Bajie as a cyborg club owner "drowning in financial obligation and vices" and engel-und-waisen.de Sha Wujing as a "quiet hulking android" from the Yangtze River, whose "memory cores become waterlogged and fragmented".
ChatGPT put up a great fight, creating a similarly dramatic cyberpunk storyline which likewise 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 - providing a storyline that seemed more matched for an animation film.
"The movie starts with the awakening of Sun Wukong within a modern research study center situated in the heart of Chongqing," it said, then going on to explain the following:
Realising his new reality and "looking for to understand his purpose in this unusual new world", he then gets away and meets Zhu Bajie and systemcheck-wiki.de Sha Wujing - "each struggling with their own existential crises".
The trio then starts a mission, navigating the streets of Chongqing to safeguard the spiritual "Eternal Scroll" from falling into the wrong hands.
SO WHICH IS BETTER?
Dr Zhang noted that it was "difficult to make a conclusive declaration" about which bot was best, adding that each displayed its own strengths in various areas, "such as language focus, training data and hardware optimization".
Her insight underscores how Chinese AI designs are not merely replicating Western paradigms, but rather evolving in affordable innovation techniques - and providing localised and enhanced outcomes.
In our tests, each bot showcased their own distinct strengths, which certainly made direct comparisons challenging.
DeepSeek's sci-fi film plot showed its imaginative flair that made for a more interesting 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 accurate reactions to concerns about Chinese current occasions, which gives it an included benefit.
Experts also weighed in on their ideas after using DeepSeek and other Chinese AI apps.
"DeepSeek is at a downside when it pertains to censorship constraints," noted Isaac Stone Fish, founder and CEO of the research study company Strategy Risks.
"When provided a choice, Chinese users want the non-censored variation - 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 per cent of individuals utilizing the tool are not attempting to get a much deeper understanding about Xi Jinping or politically delicate subjects. They're utilizing it for other efficient means," Chen said.
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How do Chinese aI Bots Stack up Against ChatGPT?
Joann Aguilera edited this page 2025-02-07 02:58:44 +08:00