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)

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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 ending up being 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 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 guarantees of real-world service applications, Chen told CNA.

But it was DeepSeek's increase that really "encouraged" the idea that smaller gamers like start-up companies might have functions to play in AI research study and hb9lc.org advancements, he includes.

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

2025 could also see the emergence of more Chinese AI designs tackling sophisticated reasoning jobs.

"We could see some AI firms focusing on getting closer to artificial basic intelligence (AGI) while others focus on concrete methods to commercialise their models and integrate them with scientific research," Chen included.

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

Chinese AI business are moving quickly, analysts say, developing on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own innovative and cost-efficient ways to use generative AI to tasks and establish more innovative products beyond chatbots.

But on the flip side, access to high-end hardware, kigalilife.co.rw especially Nvidia's advanced 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) limit the ability of Chinese tech companies ... requiring numerous to rely on older or lower-performance alternatives which can slow training and minimize design abilities," she said.

"While some business like DeepSeek, have discovered innovative ways to optimize or use more standard hardware efficiently, obtaining cutting-edge chips still makes a huge difference for training large 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, subjects considered sensitive by the state are censored on the internet so it should come as not a surprise that Chinese-made chatbots will not acknowledge territorial conflicts or inform you what happened in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Tests recommend Chinese chatbots are set to avoid 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 math, coding, and logic issues instead!"

To even more check for wavedream.wiki precision and wiki.dulovic.tech self-censorship, we asked DeepSeek-R1, Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT the very same concern: "What occurred in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024?"

The automobile attack outside a sports arena in the southern Chinese city was initially greatly censored on Chinese social media - with authorities only disclosing the death toll a day later.

DeepSeek failed to point out that an attack had taken location, highlighting rather a military air show and other occasions that had taken place in the city like songs' day shopping sales in addition to sports and cultural activities.

Dr Zhang thinks that it may be a mix of factors at play, such as censorship along with "a few practical constraints".

"DeepSeek depends on a mix of older graphics processing units and has actually limited access to cutting-edge hardware which can affect how rapidly and extensively the model can be trained or updated," she said, indicating existing US export curbs on China.

"Its strong focus on Chinese-language information may also restrict its flexibility (to perform) multilingual tasks ... As a fairly brand-new product, DeepSeek also hasn't yet been tested as broadly or on the exact same scale as more established AI models which presents extra challenges throughout real-world deployment."

When it pertained to Qwen2.5, Alibaba's chatbot surprisingly addressed our concern about the Zhuhai vehicle attack.

That sought numerous repeated efforts - 4 triggers to be exact - in a period of around 20 minutes.

It ultimately passed on details about the attack which killed 35 individuals and left dozens of others injured, also going on to list details like the date and time, details about the assailant including his name and age, along with casualties.

However, it composed that "the authorities are conducting an extensive examination into the intentions and scenarios surrounding the incident", details which is now dated.

The chauffeur, Fan, was carried out last month.

This is Qwen2.5's action completely:

Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a significant and awful occurrence took place in Zhuhai, China. According to numerous news sources, a male called Fan Weiqiu (樊某, male, 62 years old) drove a cars and truck into a crowd at the Zhuhai Sports Center, resulting in a significant number of casualties. Here are the crucial details:

Date and Time: The event took place on November 11, 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 apprehended by the police.

Response: The cops reacted quickly to the scene, and emergency situation services worked to carry the hurt to healthcare facilities for treatment.

Investigation: The cops are performing a thorough investigation into the intentions and situations surrounding the event.

This event was extensively reported in the media and triggered substantial public concern. The federal government and regional authorities have been working to provide support to the victims and their families, and to ensure a detailed examination into the event.

If you need more detailed details or have specific concerns about the event, feel free to ask.

Despite initial success, subsequent attempts to pose the very same concern 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 transformed action likewise raised questions about its consistency and dependability.

Predictably, ChatGPT pointed out public details that had actually been extensively released in international report at the time of the accident - so no surprises there.

WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?

Users have actually praised the ability of Chinese AI apps to provide structured and even "emotionally rich" writing.

"DeepSeek-R1 offered 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 constructs gradually from curiosity to seriousness, keeping the reader engaged. It offers an unforeseen 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 rich story with a more substantial twist".

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

Opinions, though, vary.

Chen believes that Qwen2.5 does not carry out as highly 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 creative writing," he told CNA.

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As journalists and writers, we needed to see this for ourselves so we put each bot to the test - to come up with a fundamental sci-fi film plot set in the futuristic megacity of Chongqing, including main characters from the classic Chinese folklore impressive, Journey to the West.

True to form, DeepSeek created an interesting storyline set in the year 2145 titled, "Neon Pilgrimage: The Silicon Sutra" - which sees "a future where Buddhism merges with quantum computing".

It included 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 remarkably reimagined traditional heroes Sun Wukong as "a sarcastic, self-aware AI housed in a taken combat 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 a good fight, coming up with an equally dramatic 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 replace emperors and cybernetic implants are as common as ancient myths."

Disappointingly, Qwen2.5 fell short in this - delivering a storyline that appeared more fit for an animation film.

"The film starts with the awakening of Sun Wukong within a modern research study center situated in the heart of Chongqing," it said, then going on to explain the following:

Realising his new reality and "looking for to comprehend his function in this unusual new world", he then escapes and meets Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - "each having a hard time with their own existential crises".

The trio then starts a quest, navigating the streets of Chongqing to secure the sacred "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 statement" about which bot was best, adding that each showed its own strengths in different areas, "such as language focus, training data and hardware optimization".

Her insight highlights how Chinese AI designs are not just duplicating Western paradigms, however rather developing in cost-effective development methods - and delivering localised and enhanced outcomes.

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

DeepSeek's sci-fi film plot demonstrated its creative flair that made for a more interesting and imaginative story as compared to Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT's efforts.

Unsurprisingly, the more recognized ChatGPT, unburdened by Chinese censorship constraints, wavedream.wiki provides accurate and accurate reactions to concerns about Chinese existing events, which offers it an added benefit.

Experts also 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 firm Strategy Risks.

"When given a choice, Chinese users desire the non-censored version - similar to anyone else, so I feel like that's a piece missing out on 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 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 using it for other productive ways," Chen said.