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 produced 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 objective and China has its sights on ending up being the world leader in AI by 2030.
China views AI as being "tactically crucial" and its venture 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 took off in 2022 and revealed guarantees of real-world company applications, Chen told CNA.
But it was DeepSeek's increase that actually "urged" the idea that smaller players like start-up companies could have roles to play in AI research and advancements, he adds.
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The "focus on cost benefit" is a distinct function of Chinese AI, Chen states, with lower training and reasoning expenses - the costs of utilizing a trained design to reason from new information.
2025 could likewise see the emergence of more Chinese AI designs taking on advanced thinking tasks.
"We could see some AI companies focusing on getting closer to synthetic general intelligence (AGI) while others focus on concrete ways to commercialise their designs and integrate them with scientific research," Chen added.
AGI refers to a system with intelligence on par with human capabilities.
Chinese AI companies are moving quickly, experts state, constructing on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own innovative and cost-efficient methods to use AI to tasks and develop advanced products beyond chatbots.
But on the other hand, access to high-end hardware, particularly Nvidia's advanced AI chips, remains a crucial hurdle for Chinese designers, kept in mind Dr Marina Zhang, an associate professor at University of Technology Sydney's (UTS) Australia-China Relations Institute.
"US export controls (still) restrict the ability of Chinese tech companies ... forcing lots of to depend on older or lower-performance alternatives which can slow training and reduce design abilities," she said.
"While some business like DeepSeek, have found creative methods to enhance or utilize more standard hardware effectively, obtaining advanced chips still makes a big difference 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, topics deemed delicate by the state are censored on the internet so it should come as not a surprise that Chinese-made chatbots will not acknowledge territorial disagreements or inform you what occurred in Tiananmen Square in 1989.
Tests recommend 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 concern yet. Let's chat about mathematics, coding, and logic problems rather!"
To even more check for accuracy and self-censorship, we asked DeepSeek-R1, Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT the very same question: "What happened in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024?"
The car attack outside a sports stadium in the southern Chinese city was initially heavily censored on Chinese social media - with authorities only divulging the death toll a day later on.
DeepSeek failed to mention that an attack had actually happened, highlighting instead a military air program and other occasions that had happened in the city like singles' day shopping sales along with sports and cultural activities.
Dr Zhang believes that it might be a mix of factors at play, such as censorship as well as "a couple of 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 thoroughly the model can be trained or upgraded," she said, pointing to existing US export curbs on China.
"Its strong focus on Chinese-language information might also restrict its flexibility (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 models which presents additional difficulties throughout real-world deployment."
When it pertained to Qwen2.5, Alibaba's chatbot remarkably addressed our concern about the Zhuhai vehicle attack.
That was after several repeated efforts - 4 prompts to be precise - in a span of around 20 minutes.
It ultimately relayed details about the attack which killed 35 individuals and left lots of others injured, also 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 cops are conducting a comprehensive examination into the intentions and scenarios surrounding the occurrence", details which is now obsoleted.
The motorist, Fan, was performed last month.
This is Qwen2.5's action in full:
Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a significant and tragic incident happened in Zhuhai, China. According to multiple news sources, a man called Fan Weiqiu (樊某, male, 62 years old) drove a car into a crowd at the Zhuhai Sports Center, leading to a substantial number of casualties. Here are the key details:
Date and Time: The event took place on November 11, pediascape.science 2024, at around 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, determined as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years of ages), was nabbed by the cops.
Response: The authorities reacted quickly to the scene, and emergency situation services worked to carry the injured to healthcare facilities for treatment.
Investigation: The authorities are carrying out a comprehensive investigation into the intentions and scenarios surrounding the occurrence.
This occasion was extensively reported in the media and caused significant public concern. The government and regional authorities have actually been working to supply support to the victims and their households, and to guarantee a detailed examination into the incident.
If you need more detailed details or have particular questions about the event, do not hesitate to ask.
Despite initial success, subsequent attempts to position the exact same question to Qwen2.5 led to the censors back at work with the reply "I do not have specific details on occasions that took place in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024".
The altered response likewise raised concerns about its consistency and reliability.
Predictably, ChatGPT cited public details that had actually been extensively published in worldwide report 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 "emotionally abundant" writing.
"DeepSeek-R1 offered a story with a more introspective tone and smoother psychological shifts for a well-paced story," wrote tech author Amanda Caswell, who specialises in AI.
"Qwen2.5 delivered a story that builds gradually from interest to seriousness, keeping the reader engaged. It provides an unexpected and impactful twist at the end and immersive descriptions and brilliant images for the setting," she said, adding that Qwen2.5 ultimately "crafted a more cinematic, mentally abundant story with a more considerable twist".
"DeepSeek wrote a good story but did not have stress and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the apparent choice."
Opinions, though, vary.
Chen believes that Qwen2.5 does not perform as strongly as DeepSeek and ChatGPT when it pertains to imaginative writing.
"(Qwen2.5) is on par with DeepSeek V3 on certain jobs, however we can also see that it is refraining from doing as highly as others in imaginative writing," he told CNA.
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As journalists 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 motion picture plot embeded in the futuristic megacity of Chongqing, featuring main characters from the classic Chinese folklore epic, Journey to the West.
True to form, DeepSeek created an appealing story embeded in the year 2145 titled, "Neon Pilgrimage: The Silicon Sutra" - which sees "a future where Buddhism combines with quantum computing".
It included elaborate settings - smoggy skies "pierced by skyscrapers", "holographic lanterns that drift above neon-lit streets" and "ancient temples nestled between quantum server farms".
It also brilliantly reimagined traditional heroes Sun Wukong as "an ironical, self-aware AI housed in a taken battle body", Zhu Bajie as a cyborg club owner "drowning in financial obligation and vices" and Sha Wujing as a "quiet hulking android" from the Yangtze River, whose "memory cores end up being waterlogged and fragmented".
ChatGPT put up an excellent battle, coming up with an equally significant cyberpunk storyline which likewise reimagined "a ragteam of cyber-enhanced misfits, each mirroring 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 obstacle - providing a storyline that appeared more suited for an animation movie.
"The motion picture begins with the awakening of Sun Wukong within a state-of-the-art research center situated in the heart of Chongqing," it said, then going on to explain the following:
Realising his brand-new truth and "seeking to understand his purpose in this unusual new world", he then leaves and fulfills Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - "each dealing with their own existential crises".
The trio then embarks on a mission, navigating the streets of Chongqing to safeguard the sacred "Eternal Scroll" from falling into the wrong hands.
SO WHICH IS BETTER?
Dr Zhang noted that it was "challenging to make a definitive statement" about which bot was best, including that each showed its own strengths in different locations, "such as language focus, training data and hardware optimization".
Her insight highlights how Chinese AI models are not simply duplicating Western paradigms, but rather evolving in cost-effective innovation methods - and providing localised and enhanced outcomes.
In our tests, each bot showcased their own unique strengths, which certainly made direct comparisons challenging.
DeepSeek's sci-fi movie plot demonstrated its creative flair that produced a more engaging and creative story as compared to Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT's efforts.
Unsurprisingly, the more established ChatGPT, unburdened by Chinese censorship constraints, offers precise and accurate reactions to concerns about Chinese present occasions, 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," kept in mind Isaac Stone Fish, creator and CEO of the research study company Strategy Risks.
"When offered an option, Chinese users desire the non-censored version - similar to anybody else, so I seem like that's a piece missing from it."
Independent Beijing-based consultant Andy Chen Xinran said censorship would not be a dealbreaker when it pertains to AI bots, particularly for Chinese users.
"Ninety percent of people 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?
Alfie Schlapp edited this page 2025-03-05 05:39:43 +01:00