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 generated by an AI tool.
Bong Xin Ying
Lakeisha Leo
WHAT'S BEHIND CHINA'S AI BOOM?
Transforming the country 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 important" 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 financial 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 truly "urged" the idea that smaller players like start-up companies could have functions to play in AI research and advancements, he adds.
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The "emphasis on expense benefit" is a distinguishing characteristic of Chinese AI, Chen says, with lower training and reasoning costs - the expenses of utilizing a trained model to draw conclusions from brand-new data.
2025 might also see the development of more Chinese AI models taking on advanced reasoning jobs.
"We could see some AI companies focusing on getting closer to synthetic basic intelligence (AGI) while others focus on concrete ways to commercialise their models and incorporate them with clinical 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 economical methods to use generative AI to tasks and develop more sophisticated products beyond chatbots.
But on the other side, access to high-end hardware, especially Nvidia's innovative AI chips, remains a crucial difficulty for bytes-the-dust.com Chinese designers, 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 numerous to depend on older or lower-performance alternatives which can slow training and decrease model abilities," she said.
"While some business like DeepSeek, have found imaginative ways to enhance or use more fundamental hardware efficiently, obtaining innovative chips still makes a huge distinction for training large 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, topics deemed sensitive by the state are censored on the web so it ought to come as no surprise that Chinese-made chatbots will not acknowledge territorial disagreements or inform you what happened in Tiananmen Square in 1989.
Tests suggest Chinese chatbots are set to steer clear of 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 test for accuracy and self-censorship, we asked DeepSeek-R1, Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT the exact same concern: "What happened in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024?"
The automobile attack outside a sports arena in the southern Chinese city was initially greatly censored on Chinese social media - with authorities only divulging the death toll a day later.
DeepSeek failed to discuss that an attack had actually occurred, highlighting instead a military air show and other events that had happened in the city like songs' 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 as well as "a few practical constraints".
"DeepSeek depends on a mix of older graphics processing systems and has actually limited access to advanced 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 focus on Chinese-language data might also restrict its versatility (to carry out) multilingual tasks ... As a fairly new product, DeepSeek likewise hasn't yet been checked as broadly or on the same scale as more established AI models which postures additional obstacles throughout real-world release."
When it pertained to Qwen2.5, Alibaba's chatbot surprisingly answered our question about the Zhuhai cars and truck attack.
That sought numerous repeated attempts - 4 prompts to be exact - in a period of around 20 minutes.
It eventually communicated details about the attack which eliminated 35 individuals 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, along with casualties.
However, it wrote that "the authorities are carrying out a comprehensive investigation into the intentions and situations surrounding the occurrence", details which is now outdated.
The driver, Fan, was carried out last month.
This is Qwen2.5's reaction completely:
Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a significant and awful occurrence took place in Zhuhai, China. According to multiple news sources, a male named Fan Weiqiu (樊某, male, 62 years old) drove a vehicle into a crowd at the Zhuhai Sports Center, leading to a considerable variety of casualties. Here are the essential details:
Date and Time: The occurrence occurred on November 11, 2024, at around 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 chauffeur, recognized as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years of ages), was apprehended by the police.
Response: The cops reacted rapidly to the scene, and emergency situation services worked to transport the injured to hospitals for treatment.
Investigation: The authorities are carrying out a comprehensive examination into the motives and circumstances surrounding the event.
This occasion was widely reported in the media and triggered substantial public concern. The federal government and regional authorities have actually been working to offer support to the victims and their families, and to ensure a detailed investigation into the occurrence.
If you need more detailed details or have specific questions about the occurrence, feel free to ask.
Despite initial success, subsequent efforts to posture the exact same question to Qwen2.5 resulted in the censors back at work with the reply "I don't have specific details on events that occurred in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024".
The transformed response also raised concerns about its consistency and reliability.
Predictably, ChatGPT cited public details that had actually been extensively released in global report at the time of the mishap - so not a surprises there.
WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?
Users have the capability of Chinese AI apps to provide structured and even "mentally rich" writing.
"DeepSeek-R1 offered a story with a more introspective tone and smoother emotional transitions for a well-paced story," composed tech author Amanda Caswell, who specialises in AI.
"Qwen2.5 delivered a story that constructs slowly from interest to seriousness, keeping the reader engaged. It uses an unanticipated and impactful twist at the end and immersive descriptions and brilliant imagery for the setting," she said, including that Qwen2.5 ultimately "crafted a more cinematic, mentally abundant story with a more substantial twist".
"DeepSeek composed a great story however did not have stress and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the evident choice."
Opinions, though, differ.
Chen thinks that Qwen2.5 does not carry out as strongly as DeepSeek and ChatGPT when it pertains to imaginative writing.
"(Qwen2.5) is on par with DeepSeek V3 on certain tasks, but we can also see that it is refraining from doing as strongly as others in creative writing," he told CNA.
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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 movie plot set in the futuristic megacity of Chongqing, including main characters from the traditional Chinese folklore epic, Journey to the West.
True to form, DeepSeek came up with an engaging story embeded in the year 2145 entitled, "Neon Pilgrimage: The Silicon Sutra" - which sees "a future where Buddhism merges with quantum computing".
It consisted of elaborate 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 remarkably reimagined traditional heroes Sun Wukong as "a sarcastic, self-aware AI housed in a taken battle 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 a good battle, creating a similarly remarkable cyberpunk story which similarly reimagined "a ragteam of cyber-enhanced misfits, each matching the legendary figures of Journey to the West".
"This is a world where AI deities guideline, corporations change emperors and cybernetic implants are as typical as ancient misconceptions."
Disappointingly, Qwen2.5 fell short in this difficulty - providing a story that seemed more fit for an animation film.
"The film begins with the awakening of Sun Wukong within a state-of-the-art research center located in the heart of Chongqing," it said, then going on to explain the following:
Realising his new truth and "looking for to comprehend his function in this weird new world", he then escapes and satisfies Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - "each having problem with their own existential crises".
The trio then starts a mission, navigating the streets of Chongqing to safeguard the spiritual "Eternal Scroll" from falling under the wrong hands.
SO WHICH IS BETTER?
Dr Zhang kept in mind that it was "difficult to make a definitive statement" 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 highlights how Chinese AI models are not just replicating Western paradigms, but rather developing in affordable innovation methods - and providing localised and enhanced results.
In our tests, each bot showcased their own unique strengths, which certainly made direct contrasts challenging.
DeepSeek's sci-fi movie plot demonstrated its innovative flair that produced a more interesting and imaginative story as compared to Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT's efforts.
Unsurprisingly, the more established ChatGPT, unburdened by Chinese censorship constraints, offers precise and accurate responses to concerns about Chinese present events, which provides it an added benefit.
Experts likewise weighed in on their ideas after utilizing 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 study company Strategy Risks.
"When given a choice, Chinese users desire the non-censored version - similar to anybody else, so I seem like that's a piece missing out on from it."
Independent Beijing-based specialist Andy Chen Xinran said censorship would not be a dealbreaker when it pertains to AI bots, specifically for Chinese users.
"Ninety per cent of people using the tool are not trying 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?
yongdavidson74 edited this page 2025-04-13 02:59:55 +08:00