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)
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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 objective and China has its sights on becoming the world leader in AI by 2030.
China views AI as being "tactically crucial" and its foray into the field has 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 removed in 2022 and revealed promises of real-world service applications, Chen informed CNA.
But it was DeepSeek's increase that really "encouraged" the idea that smaller players like start-up firms might have roles to play in AI research study and developments, 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 costs of using a trained design to reason from new information.
2025 could also see the development of more Chinese AI models taking on sophisticated reasoning jobs.
"We could see some AI firms concentrating on getting closer to artificial basic intelligence (AGI) while others concentrate on concrete ways to commercialise their designs and integrate them with scientific research study," Chen included.
AGI refers to a system with intelligence on par with human capabilities.
Chinese AI business are moving rapidly, experts say, developing on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own innovative and wakewiki.de cost-efficient ways to use generative AI to jobs and develop more advanced items beyond chatbots.
But on the flip side, access to hardware, particularly Nvidia's advanced AI chips, remains a crucial 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 capability of Chinese tech business ... requiring numerous to count on older or lower-performance alternatives which can slow training and reduce model abilities," she said.
"While some companies like DeepSeek, have actually found imaginative ways to enhance or use more fundamental hardware effectively, obtaining cutting-edge chips still makes a big distinction for training huge AI models."
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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 considered sensitive by the state are censored on the internet so it must come as not a surprise that Chinese-made chatbots will not acknowledge territorial disputes or inform you what occurred in Tiananmen Square in 1989.
Tests suggest Chinese chatbots are programmed 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 problems instead!"
To further test for accuracy and self-censorship, we asked DeepSeek-R1, Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT the exact same question: "What occurred in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024?"
The automobile attack outside a sports stadium in the southern Chinese city was at first heavily censored on Chinese social media - with authorities only divulging the death toll a day later.
DeepSeek failed to mention that an attack had occurred, highlighting rather a military air program and other occasions that had actually happened in the city like singles' day shopping sales along with sports and cultural activities.
Dr Zhang thinks that it may be a mix of aspects at play, such as censorship as well as "a few useful constraints".
"DeepSeek relies on a mix of older graphics processing systems and has restricted access to innovative hardware which can affect how rapidly and thoroughly the design can be trained or updated," she said, disgaeawiki.info indicating existing US export curbs on China.
"Its strong concentrate on Chinese-language information may likewise restrict its versatility (to perform) multilingual jobs ... As a fairly new item, DeepSeek also hasn't yet been evaluated as broadly or on the same scale as more established AI models which presents extra difficulties throughout real-world implementation."
When it pertained to Qwen2.5, Alibaba's chatbot remarkably addressed our question about the Zhuhai car attack.
That wanted several duplicated attempts - 4 triggers 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 hurt, 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 wrote that "the police are performing an extensive examination into the intentions and situations surrounding the occurrence", details which is now dated.
The motorist, Fan, was performed last month.
This is Qwen2.5's reaction completely:
Answer: bytes-the-dust.com On Nov 11, 2024, a significant and trademarketclassifieds.com awful event happened in Zhuhai, China. According to multiple news sources, a man called Fan Weiqiu (樊某, male, 62 years old) drove a vehicle into a crowd at the Zhuhai Sports Center, resulting in a considerable number of casualties. Here are the crucial details:
Date and Time: The event 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, recognized as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years old), was nabbed by the authorities.
Response: The police reacted quickly to the scene, and emergency services worked to transport the injured to hospitals for treatment.
Investigation: The authorities are performing an extensive examination into the intentions and circumstances surrounding the occurrence.
This occasion was extensively reported in the media and triggered considerable public concern. The federal government and local authorities have been working to offer support to the victims and their households, and to guarantee a detailed examination into the occurrence.
If you require more detailed details or have particular concerns about the event, do not hesitate to ask.
Despite initial success, kousokuwiki.org subsequent efforts to posture the very same concern to Qwen2.5 led to the censors back at work with the reply "I do not have particular details on events that happened in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024".
The modified action likewise raised questions about its consistency and reliability.
Predictably, ChatGPT cited public details that had been extensively published in worldwide report 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 "emotionally abundant" writing.
"DeepSeek-R1 provided a story with a more introspective tone and smoother psychological transitions for a well-paced story," composed tech author Amanda Caswell, who specialises in AI.
"Qwen2.5 provided a story that develops slowly from interest to seriousness, keeping the reader engaged. It offers an unanticipated and impactful twist at the end and immersive descriptions and vivid imagery for the setting," she said, adding that Qwen2.5 ultimately "crafted a more cinematic, mentally abundant story with a more substantial twist".
"DeepSeek composed an excellent story however did not have stress and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the obvious choice."
Opinions, however, differ.
Chen thinks that Qwen2.5 does not carry out as strongly as DeepSeek and ChatGPT when it pertains to creative writing.
"(Qwen2.5) is on par with DeepSeek V3 on certain jobs, however we can also see that it is refraining from doing as strongly as others in imaginative writing," he told CNA.
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As reporters and authors, we needed to see this for ourselves so we put each bot to the test - to come up with a fundamental sci-fi movie plot set in the futuristic megacity of Chongqing, featuring main characters from the timeless Chinese folklore impressive, Journey to the West.
True to form, DeepSeek came up with an interesting storyline embeded in the year 2145 titled, "Neon Pilgrimage: The Silicon Sutra" - which sees "a future where Buddhism combines with quantum computing".
It consisted of fancy 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 brilliantly reimagined conventional heroes Sun Wukong as "an ironical, self-aware AI housed in a stolen fight 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 a great fight, coming up with a similarly significant cyberpunk storyline 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 change emperors and cybernetic implants are as common as ancient misconceptions."
Disappointingly, Qwen2.5 fell short in this obstacle - providing a storyline that appeared more suited for an animation movie.
"The motion picture starts with the awakening of Sun Wukong within a high-tech 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 function in this weird brand-new world", he then gets away and satisfies Zhu Bajie and disgaeawiki.info Sha Wujing - "each dealing with their own existential crises".
The trio then starts a quest, navigating the streets of Chongqing to safeguard the spiritual "Eternal Scroll" from falling into the wrong hands.
SO WHICH IS BETTER?
Dr Zhang kept in mind that it was "hard to make a definitive declaration" about which bot was best, including that each showed its own strengths in various locations, "such as language focus, training information and hardware optimization".
Her insight highlights how Chinese AI designs are not merely duplicating Western paradigms, however rather progressing in cost-effective innovation approaches - and delivering localised and enhanced results.
In our tests, each bot showcased their own unique strengths, which certainly made direct comparisons challenging.
DeepSeek's sci-fi motion picture plot demonstrated its creative flair that made for a more engaging and imaginative story 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 questions about Chinese existing events, which gives it an included benefit.
Experts likewise weighed in on their ideas after utilizing DeepSeek and other Chinese AI apps.
"DeepSeek is at a downside when it pertains to censorship constraints," kept in mind Isaac Stone Fish, founder and CEO of the research company Strategy Risks.
"When provided an option, Chinese users want the non-censored variation - much like anyone else, so I seem 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, particularly for Chinese users.
"Ninety per cent of people using the tool are not attempting to get a deeper understanding about Xi Jinping or politically delicate topics. They're utilizing it for other efficient means," Chen said.
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How do Chinese aI Bots Stack up Against ChatGPT?
franziskakeenu edited this page 2025-04-06 09:34:16 +00:00