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, AFP/Sebastien Bozon)
This audio is created by an AI tool.
Bong Xin Ying
Lakeisha Leo
WHAT lags CHINA'S AI BOOM?
Transforming the country 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 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 accelerated after ChatGPT took off in 2022 and revealed pledges of real-world business applications, Chen informed CNA.
But it was DeepSeek's rise that really "encouraged" the concept that smaller players like start-up companies could have roles to play in AI research study and advancements, he adds.
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The "emphasis on cost benefit" is a distinguishing characteristic of Chinese AI, Chen states, with lower training and inference expenses - the costs of using a trained design to reason from brand-new data.
2025 could also see the development of more Chinese AI models dealing with sophisticated thinking tasks.
"We might see some AI companies concentrating on getting closer to artificial general intelligence (AGI) while others focus on concrete methods to commercialise their designs and incorporate them with scientific research study," Chen included.
AGI refers to 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 ingenious and cost-efficient methods to apply generative AI to tasks and develop advanced products beyond chatbots.
But on the other hand, access to high-end hardware, especially Nvidia's advanced AI chips, remains an essential obstacle for Chinese developers, kept in mind Dr Marina Zhang, an associate teacher at University of Technology Sydney's (UTS) Institute.
"US export controls (still) limit the ability of Chinese tech business ... requiring many to rely on older or lower-performance options which can slow training and lower model capabilities," she said.
"While some business like DeepSeek, have actually discovered innovative methods to enhance or utilize more basic hardware efficiently, obtaining advanced chips still makes a big distinction for training extremely big 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 sensitive 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 inform you what took place in Tiananmen Square in 1989.
Tests suggest Chinese chatbots are configured to steer clear of 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 precision and self-censorship, we asked DeepSeek-R1, Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT the exact same question: "What happened in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024?"
The cars and truck attack outside a sports stadium in the southern Chinese city was at first greatly censored on Chinese social media - with authorities just revealing the death toll a day later on.
DeepSeek failed to discuss that an attack had happened, highlighting rather a military air program and other events that had actually happened in the city like singles' day shopping sales along with sports and cultural activities.
Dr Zhang believes that it may be a mix of elements at play, such as censorship along with "a few practical constraints".
"DeepSeek depends on a mix of older graphics processing units and has limited access to advanced hardware which can impact how rapidly and extensively the model can be trained or upgraded," she said, indicating existing US export curbs on China.
"Its strong concentrate on Chinese-language information may also restrict its versatility (to bring out) multilingual tasks ... As a fairly new item, DeepSeek likewise hasn't yet been checked as broadly or on the same scale as more established AI models which postures extra difficulties 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 duplicated efforts - four prompts to be accurate - in a period of around 20 minutes.
It eventually relayed details about the attack which eliminated 35 individuals and left dozens of others hurt, 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 authorities are carrying out an extensive investigation into the motives and situations surrounding the event", details which is now obsoleted.
The chauffeur, Fan, was carried out last month.
This is Qwen2.5's response in complete:
Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a major and awful occurrence occurred in Zhuhai, China. According to several news sources, a man named Fan Weiqiu (樊某, yewiki.org male, 62 years of ages) drove a vehicle into a crowd at the Zhuhai Sports Center, resulting in a considerable variety of casualties. Here are the crucial 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 driver, identified as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years of ages), was apprehended by the cops.
Response: The cops responded rapidly to the scene, and emergency services worked to transfer the injured to medical facilities for treatment.
Investigation: The authorities are conducting a comprehensive examination into the intentions and scenarios surrounding the incident.
This occasion was extensively reported in the media and caused substantial public issue. The federal government and forum.pinoo.com.tr regional authorities have actually been working to supply assistance to the victims and their households, and to ensure a detailed examination into the occurrence.
If you require more detailed details or have specific concerns about the event, feel free to ask.
Despite preliminary success, subsequent efforts to pose the very same question to Qwen2.5 led to the censors back at work with the reply "I don't have specific details on events that took place in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024".
The transformed response likewise raised concerns about its consistency and dependability.
Predictably, ChatGPT mentioned public details that had actually been widely published in worldwide news reports at the time of the accident - so not a surprises there.
WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?
Users have praised the capability of Chinese AI apps to deliver structured and even "mentally abundant" writing.
"DeepSeek-R1 used a story with a more introspective tone and smoother emotional transitions for a well-paced story," composed tech writer Amanda Caswell, who specialises in AI.
"Qwen2.5 delivered a story that builds slowly from interest to seriousness, keeping the reader engaged. It offers an unanticipated and impactful twist at the end and immersive descriptions and brilliant imagery for the setting," she said, adding that Qwen2.5 ultimately "crafted a more cinematic, mentally abundant story with a more substantial twist".
"DeepSeek wrote a good story but did not have tension and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the apparent choice."
Opinions, though, vary.
Chen thinks that Qwen2.5 does not perform as strongly 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 highly as others in innovative writing," he informed CNA.
Related:
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As reporters and writers, we needed to see this for ourselves so we put each bot to the test - to come up with a basic sci-fi motion picture plot set in the futuristic megacity of Chongqing, including main characters from the traditional Chinese folklore impressive, Journey to the West.
True to form, DeepSeek created an interesting story set 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 also remarkably reimagined conventional heroes Sun Wukong as "a sarcastic, self-aware AI housed in a stolen combat body", Zhu Bajie as a cyborg bar 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 fight, developing a similarly dramatic 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 rule, corporations change emperors and cybernetic implants are as typical as ancient myths."
Disappointingly, Qwen2.5 fell short in this obstacle - providing a story that appeared more suited for an animation film.
"The motion picture begins 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 "looking for to understand his purpose in this weird brand-new world", he then leaves and meets Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - "each battling with their own existential crises".
The trio then embarks on a quest, navigating the streets of Chongqing to protect the spiritual "Eternal Scroll" from falling into the wrong hands.
SO WHICH IS BETTER?
Dr Zhang kept in mind that it was "tough to make a definitive declaration" 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 highlights how Chinese AI models are not just duplicating Western paradigms, but rather progressing in cost-effective innovation techniques - and providing localised and enhanced results.
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 narrative as compared to Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT's efforts.
Unsurprisingly, the more established ChatGPT, unburdened by Chinese censorship constraints, provides accurate and accurate reactions to questions about Chinese present occasions, which provides it an included advantage.
Experts also weighed in on their thoughts after using DeepSeek and other Chinese AI apps.
"DeepSeek is at a downside when it pertains to censorship constraints," kept in mind Isaac Stone Fish, creator and CEO of the research firm Strategy Risks.
"When offered an option, Chinese users want the non-censored variation - just like anyone else, so I feel like that's a piece missing out on 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 deeper understanding about Xi Jinping or politically delicate subjects. They're utilizing it for other productive means," Chen said.
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How do Chinese aI Bots Stack up Against ChatGPT?
florine4247305 edited this page 2025-04-02 21:12:10 +02:00