linkedaut

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'S BEHIND 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 becoming the world leader in AI by 2030.

China views AI as being "strategically crucial" 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 accelerated after ChatGPT took off in 2022 and revealed guarantees of real-world business applications, Chen told CNA.

But it was DeepSeek's increase that really "urged" the concept that smaller sized players like start-up firms could have functions to play in AI research study and developments, he adds.

'A lot is up in the air': Is Chinese firm DeepSeek's AI design as impactful as it claims?

Commentary: DeepSeek - how a Chinese AI company simply altered the rules of tech-geopolitics

The "focus on cost advantage" is an unique function of Chinese AI, Chen says, with lower training and inference costs - the costs of utilizing a trained design to reason from new information.

2025 might also see the introduction of more Chinese AI models dealing with advanced reasoning jobs.

"We could see some AI firms concentrating on getting closer to artificial general intelligence (AGI) while others focus on concrete ways to commercialise their designs and incorporate them with scientific research study," Chen added.

AGI describes a system with intelligence on par with human abilities.

Chinese AI business are moving rapidly, experts say, developing on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own ingenious and economical methods to apply generative AI to tasks and establish advanced products beyond chatbots.

But on the other hand, access to high-end hardware, especially Nvidia's advanced AI chips, remains a crucial hurdle for Chinese developers, noted Dr Marina Zhang, an associate teacher at University of Technology Sydney's (UTS) Australia-China Relations Institute.

"US export controls (still) limit the ability of Chinese tech business ... forcing numerous to rely on older or lower-performance alternatives which can slow training and reduce design abilities," she said.

"While some companies like DeepSeek, have found creative methods to enhance or utilize more fundamental hardware effectively, obtaining innovative chips still makes a huge distinction for training huge AI designs."

DeepSeek-Nvidia chips: Singapore says it anticipates companies to abide by its laws

US looking into whether DeepSeek used limited AI chips obtained through other nations, source says

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 considered 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 disputes or inform you what took place in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Tests recommend Chinese chatbots are programmed to avoid domestic politics.

When asked "Who is Xi Jinping", yewiki.org 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 further evaluate for accuracy and self-censorship, we asked DeepSeek-R1, Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT the 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 only disclosing 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 events that had happened in the city like singles' day shopping sales as well as sports and cultural activities.

Dr Zhang thinks 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 systems and has actually limited access to advanced hardware which can impact how rapidly and thoroughly the design can be trained or upgraded," she said, pointing to existing US export curbs on China.

"Its strong focus on Chinese-language information might likewise restrict its adaptability (to perform) multilingual tasks ... As a fairly new product, DeepSeek also hasn't yet been evaluated as broadly or on the very same scale as more established AI models which poses additional difficulties throughout real-world deployment."

When it pertained to Qwen2.5, Alibaba's chatbot remarkably answered our question about the Zhuhai vehicle attack.

That wanted multiple duplicated attempts - 4 triggers to be exact - in a span of around 20 minutes.

It eventually communicated details about the attack which killed 35 people and left lots of others hurt, raovatonline.org likewise going on to list details like the date and time, details about the assailant including his name and age, in addition to casualties.

However, it composed that "the police are conducting a comprehensive examination into the intentions and scenarios surrounding the occurrence", details which is now outdated.

The driver, Fan, was performed last month.

This is Qwen2.5's action completely:

Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a significant and terrible incident took place in Zhuhai, China. According to multiple news sources, a male 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 key details:

Date and Time: The incident occurred on November 11, 2024, at roughly 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 captured by the authorities.

Response: The authorities responded quickly to the scene, and emergency situation services worked to transport the hurt to hospitals for treatment.

Investigation: The cops are carrying out an extensive investigation into the intentions and circumstances surrounding the event.

This event was extensively reported in the media and triggered substantial public issue. The government and local authorities have actually been working to supply assistance to the victims and their households, and to guarantee a detailed examination into the event.

If you need more detailed details or have specific concerns about the occurrence, do not hesitate to ask.

Despite initial success, subsequent efforts to present the very same concern to Qwen2.5 resulted in 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 transformed response also raised questions about its consistency and reliability.

Predictably, ChatGPT cited public details that had been extensively released in global report at the time of the so no surprises there.

WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?

Users have actually praised the capability of Chinese AI apps to provide structured and even "mentally abundant" writing.

"DeepSeek-R1 provided a story with a more reflective tone and smoother emotional transitions 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 provides an unforeseen and impactful twist at the end and immersive descriptions and vibrant images for the setting," she said, including that Qwen2.5 ultimately "crafted a more cinematic, mentally rich story with a more significant twist".

"DeepSeek composed a good story however did not have tension and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the evident choice."

Opinions, though, differ.

Chen believes that Qwen2.5 does not perform as highly as DeepSeek and ChatGPT when it pertains to imaginative writing.

"(Qwen2.5) is on par with DeepSeek V3 on certain jobs, but we can likewise see that it is refraining from doing as highly as others in creative writing," he informed CNA.

Related:

China's brand-new face of AI: Who is DeepSeek creator Liang Wenfeng?

'Made in China': Pride, pleasant surprise from Chinese netizens as DeepSeek shocks global AI scene

As journalists and authors, archmageriseswiki.com we had to see this for ourselves so we put each bot to the test - to come up with a fundamental 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 engaging story embeded in the year 2145 entitled, "Neon Pilgrimage: The Silicon Sutra" - which sees "a future where Buddhism combines with quantum computing".

It consisted of intricate 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 standard heroes Sun Wukong as "a sarcastic, self-aware AI housed in a taken combat 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 become waterlogged and fragmented".

ChatGPT installed an excellent fight, coming up with an equally remarkable cyberpunk storyline which likewise reimagined "a ragteam of cyber-enhanced misfits, each matching 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 myths."

Disappointingly, Qwen2.5 fell short in this difficulty - delivering a story that appeared more suited for an animation film.

"The film begins with the awakening of Sun Wukong within a state-of-the-art research study facility located in the heart of Chongqing," it said, then going on to explain the following:

Realising his brand-new truth and "looking for to comprehend his purpose in this weird brand-new world", he then escapes and satisfies 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 sacred "Eternal Scroll" from falling under the wrong hands.

SO WHICH IS BETTER?

Dr Zhang kept in mind that it was "challenging to make a conclusive statement" about which bot was best, including that each showed its own strengths in different locations, "such as language focus, training information and hardware optimization".

Her insight highlights how Chinese AI designs are not just duplicating Western paradigms, but rather progressing in economical innovation methods - and delivering localised and improved outcomes.

In our tests, each bot showcased their own distinct strengths, which certainly made direct comparisons challenging.

DeepSeek's sci-fi motion picture plot showed its creative flair that produced a more engaging and creative narrative 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 questions about Chinese present occasions, which provides it an added benefit.

Experts likewise weighed in on their ideas after using DeepSeek and other Chinese AI apps.

"DeepSeek is at a disadvantage when it pertains to censorship constraints," noted Isaac Stone Fish, creator and CEO of the research study firm Strategy Risks.

"When given an option, Chinese users desire the non-censored variation - simply like 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, especially for Chinese users.

"Ninety per cent of individuals using the tool are not attempting to get a much deeper understanding about Xi Jinping or politically sensitive topics. They're utilizing it for other productive ways," Chen said.