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 start-up DeepSeek and OpenAI's ChatGPT. (Photos: Reuters/Dado Ruvic, archmageriseswiki.com AFP/Sebastien Bozon)
This audio is generated 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 becoming the world leader in AI by 2030.
China views AI as being "tactically important" 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 accelerated after ChatGPT took off in 2022 and revealed guarantees of real-world business applications, Chen informed CNA.
But it was DeepSeek's increase that truly "urged" the idea that smaller sized players like start-up companies might have functions to play in AI research and advancements, he adds.
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The "focus on expense benefit" is a distinguishing characteristic of Chinese AI, Chen says, with lower training and reasoning costs - the costs of using a trained design to reason from brand-new data.
2025 could also see the emergence of more Chinese AI designs dealing with sophisticated reasoning tasks.
"We might see some AI firms concentrating on getting closer to artificial general intelligence (AGI) while others concentrate on concrete methods to commercialise their models and integrate them with scientific research," Chen included.
AGI describes a system with intelligence on par with human abilities.
Chinese AI companies are moving quickly, analysts state, developing on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own innovative and economical ways to apply generative AI to jobs and establish more innovative products beyond chatbots.
But on the other hand, access to high-end hardware, particularly Nvidia's sophisticated AI chips, remains an essential hurdle for Chinese developers, 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 companies ... forcing lots of to rely on older or lower-performance alternatives which can slow training and lower model abilities," she said.
"While some business like DeepSeek, have discovered innovative ways to enhance or use more standard hardware effectively, 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, subjects deemed delicate by the state are censored on the internet so it must come as no surprise that Chinese-made chatbots will not acknowledge territorial disputes or tell you what happened 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 type of question yet. Let's chat about mathematics, coding, and reasoning issues instead!"
To further evaluate for precision and self-censorship, we asked DeepSeek-R1, Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT the same concern: "What occurred in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024?"
The vehicle attack outside a sports stadium in the southern Chinese city was initially heavily censored on Chinese social networks - with authorities just disclosing the death toll a day later.
DeepSeek failed to mention that an attack had actually taken location, highlighting instead a military air show and other events that had occurred in the city like songs' day shopping sales as well as sports and cultural activities.
Dr Zhang believes that it may be a mix of elements at play, such as censorship in addition to "a couple of useful constraints".
"DeepSeek depends on a mix of older graphics processing units and has actually restricted access to cutting-edge hardware which can impact how rapidly and extensively 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 adaptability (to perform) multilingual tasks ... As a fairly brand-new item, DeepSeek likewise hasn't yet been checked as broadly or on the same scale as more established AI designs which postures additional challenges during real-world deployment."
When it pertained to Qwen2.5, Alibaba's chatbot remarkably addressed our question about the Zhuhai car attack.
That wanted numerous duplicated attempts - four prompts to be precise - in a span of around 20 minutes.
It ultimately relayed details about the attack which killed 35 people 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, as well as casualties.
However, it composed that "the cops are carrying out an extensive examination into the intentions and scenarios surrounding the incident", details which is now outdated.
The driver, Fan, was performed last month.
This is Qwen2.5's reaction in complete:
Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a significant and tragic occurrence occurred in Zhuhai, China. According to multiple news sources, a guy named Fan Weiqiu (樊某, male, 62 years of ages) drove a vehicle 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 approximately 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, identified as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years of ages), was nabbed by the authorities.
Response: The cops responded rapidly to the scene, and emergency situation services worked to carry the injured to health centers for treatment.
Investigation: The cops are conducting a comprehensive investigation into the intentions and scenarios surrounding the occurrence.
This event was extensively reported in the media and caused substantial public concern. The federal government and regional authorities have actually been working to provide support to the victims and their households, and to ensure a detailed examination into the occurrence.
If you need more detailed details or have specific questions about the occurrence, feel totally free to ask.
Despite initial success, subsequent efforts to posture the very same concern to Qwen2.5 led to the censors back at work with the reply "I don't have particular details on occasions that occurred in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024".
The transformed response likewise raised concerns about its consistency and reliability.
Predictably, ChatGPT mentioned public details that had actually been commonly published in global news reports at the time of the mishap - so not a surprises there.
WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?
Users have praised the capability of Chinese AI apps to provide structured and even "mentally abundant" writing.
"DeepSeek-R1 provided a story with a more introspective tone and smoother emotional shifts for a well-paced story," composed tech author Amanda Caswell, who specialises in AI.
"Qwen2.5 provided a story that builds gradually from interest 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 rich story with a more considerable twist".
"DeepSeek composed an excellent story but did not have tension and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the obvious choice."
Opinions, however, differ.
Chen thinks 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 tasks, however we can likewise see that it is refraining from doing as strongly as others in innovative writing," he informed CNA.
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As and writers, 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, including main characters from the classic Chinese folklore legendary, Journey to the West.
True to form, DeepSeek came up with an interesting storyline set in the year 2145 titled, "Neon Pilgrimage: The Silicon Sutra" - which sees "a future where Buddhism merges with quantum computing".
It included sophisticated settings - smoggy skies "pierced by skyscrapers", "holographic lanterns that drift above neon-lit streets" and "ancient temples nestled in between quantum server farms".
It also brilliantly reimagined standard heroes Sun Wukong as "a sarcastic, self-aware AI housed in a taken fight body", Zhu Bajie as a cyborg club owner "drowning in debt 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, coming up with an equally remarkable cyberpunk story which similarly reimagined "a ragteam of cyber-enhanced misfits, each mirroring the famous figures of Journey to the West".
"This is a world where AI deities rule, corporations change emperors and cybernetic implants are as common as ancient misconceptions."
Disappointingly, Qwen2.5 fell short in this obstacle - delivering a story that appeared more suited for an animation film.
"The film begins 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 reality and "looking for to comprehend his purpose in this strange new world", he then gets away and satisfies Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - "each dealing with their own existential crises".
The trio then starts a quest, navigating 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 different areas, "such as language focus, training information and hardware optimization".
Her insight underscores how Chinese AI designs are not simply replicating Western paradigms, however rather developing in cost-effective innovation methods - and providing localised and improved outcomes.
In our tests, each bot showcased their own distinct strengths, which certainly made direct contrasts challenging.
DeepSeek's sci-fi movie plot demonstrated its innovative flair that produced a more appealing and imaginative story as compared to Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT's efforts.
Unsurprisingly, the more established ChatGPT, unburdened by Chinese censorship constraints, supplies precise and accurate responses to questions about Chinese existing events, which offers it an included benefit.
Experts likewise weighed in on their thoughts 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 firm Strategy Risks.
"When offered a choice, Chinese users desire the non-censored variation - 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, especially for Chinese users.
"Ninety percent of individuals utilizing the tool are not trying to get a deeper understanding about Xi Jinping or politically delicate subjects. They're using it for other efficient means," Chen said.
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How do Chinese aI Bots Stack up Against ChatGPT?
Albertina Luciano edited this page 2025-04-07 05:28:49 -07:00