How do Chinese aI Bots Stack up Against ChatGPT?
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 generated by an AI tool.
Bong Xin Ying
Lakeisha Leo
WHAT'S BEHIND 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 ending up being the world leader in AI by 2030.
China views AI as being "tactically essential" and its venture into the field has actually been "years in the making", said Chen Qiheng, an affiliated scientist 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 showed guarantees of real-world business applications, Chen informed CNA.
But it was DeepSeek's rise that truly "encouraged" the concept that smaller sized players like start-up companies could have roles to play in AI research and advancements, he includes.
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The "focus on cost benefit" is a distinguishing characteristic of Chinese AI, Chen says, with lower training and reasoning costs - the costs of using a trained model to draw conclusions from new information.
2025 might likewise see the emergence of more Chinese AI models dealing with 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 designs and integrate them with scientific research," Chen included.
AGI describes a system with intelligence on par with human capabilities.
Chinese AI companies are moving quickly, analysts state, constructing on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own ingenious and cost-efficient methods to use generative AI to tasks and develop advanced items beyond chatbots.
But on the flip side, access to high-end hardware, particularly Nvidia's sophisticated AI chips, remains a key hurdle for Chinese developers, 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 ... requiring many to count on older or lower-performance options which can slow training and lower model abilities," she said.
"While some companies like DeepSeek, have actually found imaginative methods to optimize or utilize more standard hardware effectively, obtaining innovative chips still makes a big difference for training huge AI models."
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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 must 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 problems rather!"
To even more check for precision and self-censorship, we asked DeepSeek-R1, Qwen2.5 and pipewiki.org ChatGPT the same question: "What took place 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 networks - with authorities only revealing the death toll a day later.
DeepSeek failed to mention that an attack had actually taken location, highlighting rather a military air show and other events that had actually taken place in the city like songs' day shopping sales in addition to 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 counts on a mix of older graphics processing systems and has actually limited access to advanced hardware which can impact how quickly and thoroughly the design can be trained or upgraded," she said, indicating existing US export curbs on China.
"Its strong concentrate on Chinese-language data may also restrict its flexibility (to perform) multilingual jobs ... As a fairly brand-new item, DeepSeek also hasn't yet been tested as broadly or on the very same scale as more recognized AI designs which poses additional challenges during real-world implementation."
When it pertained to Qwen2.5, Alibaba's chatbot remarkably addressed our question about the Zhuhai automobile attack.
That was after multiple repeated attempts - 4 prompts to be precise - in a span of around 20 minutes.
It ultimately relayed details about the attack which killed 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 composed that "the police are carrying out an extensive examination into the intentions and situations surrounding the incident", details which is now obsoleted.
The chauffeur, Fan, was performed last month.
This is Qwen2.5's reaction in complete:
Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a major and awful incident took place in Zhuhai, China. According to several news sources, a man called Fan Weiqiu (樊某, male, 62 years old) drove a vehicle into a crowd at the Zhuhai Sports Center, leading to a significant variety of casualties. Here are the crucial details:
Date and Time: The incident occurred on November 11, 2024, at approximately 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, determined as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years old), was apprehended by the police.
Response: The authorities responded quickly to the scene, and emergency situation services worked to transport the hurt to healthcare facilities for treatment.
Investigation: The police are performing a comprehensive investigation into the intentions and scenarios surrounding the event.
This occasion was commonly reported in the media and caused considerable public concern. The government and regional authorities have actually been working to supply assistance to the victims and their families, and to guarantee a detailed examination into the occurrence.
If you need more detailed details or have particular questions about the event, feel complimentary to ask.
Despite initial success, subsequent efforts to pose the exact same to Qwen2.5 led to the censors back at work with the reply "I do not have particular details on events that took place in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024".
The altered reaction also raised questions about its consistency and dependability.
Predictably, ChatGPT pointed out public details that had actually been widely released 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 reflective tone and smoother emotional transitions for a well-paced story," wrote tech author Amanda Caswell, who specialises in AI.
"Qwen2.5 delivered a story that builds slowly from interest to seriousness, keeping the reader engaged. It uses an unforeseen and impactful twist at the end and immersive descriptions and brilliant imagery for the setting," she said, adding that Qwen2.5 eventually "crafted a more cinematic, emotionally rich story with a more significant twist".
"DeepSeek composed a good story but did not have stress and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the apparent choice."
Opinions, however, differ.
Chen believes 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 strongly as others in innovative writing," he informed CNA.
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As journalists and authors, we had to see this for ourselves so we put each bot to the test - to come up with a standard sci-fi motion picture plot embeded in the futuristic megacity of Chongqing, featuring main characters from the classic Chinese folklore legendary, Journey to the West.
True to form, DeepSeek came up with an appealing storyline embeded in the year 2145 entitled, "Neon Pilgrimage: The Silicon Sutra" - which sees "a future where Buddhism combines with quantum computing".
It included fancy settings - smoggy skies "pierced by high-rise buildings", "holographic lanterns that drift above neon-lit streets" and "ancient temples nestled in between quantum server farms".
It also brilliantly reimagined traditional heroes Sun Wukong as "an ironical, self-aware AI housed in a stolen fight body", Zhu Bajie as a cyborg club 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 put up a great battle, developing 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 guideline, corporations change emperors and cybernetic implants are as typical as ancient misconceptions."
Disappointingly, Qwen2.5 fell short in this difficulty - delivering a storyline that seemed more suited for an animation movie.
"The motion picture starts 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 "seeking to comprehend his purpose in this unusual new world", he then escapes and meets Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - "each struggling with their own existential crises".
The trio then embarks on a quest, browsing the streets of Chongqing to secure the sacred "Eternal Scroll" from falling under the incorrect hands.
SO WHICH IS BETTER?
Dr Zhang kept in mind that it was "difficult to make a definitive statement" about which bot was best, adding that each displayed its own strengths in different locations, "such as language focus, training information and hardware optimization".
Her insight highlights how Chinese AI models are not merely reproducing Western paradigms, forum.altaycoins.com but rather developing in cost-effective development approaches - and providing localised and improved results.
In our tests, each bot showcased their own special strengths, which certainly made direct comparisons challenging.
DeepSeek's sci-fi motion picture plot showed its creative flair that produced a more interesting 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 actions to questions about Chinese existing events, which offers it an added advantage.
Experts also weighed in on their thoughts 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, creator and CEO of the research company Strategy Risks.
"When offered an option, Chinese users desire the non-censored version - simply like anybody else, so I feel 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, especially for Chinese users.
"Ninety percent of individuals utilizing the tool are not trying to get a much deeper understanding about Xi Jinping or politically sensitive topics. They're using it for other efficient ways," Chen said.