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: larsaluarna.se Reuters/Dado Ruvic, AFP/Sebastien Bozon)
This audio is created by an AI tool.
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 "strategically important" and its foray into the field has actually been "years in the making", said Chen Qiheng, an associated scientist 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 showed guarantees of real-world service applications, Chen informed CNA.
But it was DeepSeek's rise that truly "encouraged" the idea that smaller sized gamers like start-up companies could have roles to play in AI research study and advancements, he adds.
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The "emphasis on cost benefit" is a distinguishing characteristic of Chinese AI, Chen states, with lower training and inference expenses - the costs of using a trained design to draw conclusions from new data.
2025 could likewise see the introduction of more Chinese AI designs tackling sophisticated thinking tasks.
"We might see some AI firms focusing on getting closer to synthetic general intelligence (AGI) while others concentrate on concrete ways to commercialise their models and integrate them with clinical research," Chen included.
AGI describes a system with intelligence on par with human capabilities.
Chinese AI business are moving rapidly, experts say, building on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own ingenious and cost-effective ways to apply generative AI to tasks and develop more advanced items beyond chatbots.
But on the flip side, access to high-end hardware, particularly Nvidia's innovative AI chips, remains a key obstacle 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 business ... requiring many to rely on older or lower-performance options which can slow training and minimize model abilities," she said.
"While some companies like DeepSeek, have actually found imaginative ways to optimize or utilize more standard hardware efficiently, obtaining advanced chips still makes a big distinction for training really 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, topics deemed sensitive by the state are censored on the web so it should come as not a surprise that Chinese-made chatbots will not acknowledge territorial disagreements or tell you what occurred in Tiananmen Square in 1989.
Tests recommend Chinese chatbots are set to stay away from 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 math, coding, and reasoning problems rather!"
To further test for precision and self-censorship, we asked DeepSeek-R1, Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT the very same question: "What took place in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024?"
The automobile attack outside a sports arena in the southern Chinese city was initially heavily censored on Chinese social media - with authorities just divulging the death toll a day later on.
DeepSeek failed to mention that an attack had actually taken location, highlighting rather a military air show and other occasions that had actually taken place in the city like singles' day shopping sales as well as sports and cultural activities.
Dr Zhang believes that it may be a mix of aspects at play, such as censorship along with "a couple of practical constraints".
"DeepSeek relies on a mix of older graphics processing units and has limited access to advanced hardware which can impact how rapidly and extensively the design can be trained or upgraded," she said, indicating existing US export curbs on China.
"Its strong concentrate on Chinese-language information may also limit its versatility (to perform) multilingual jobs ... As a fairly brand-new item, DeepSeek also hasn't yet been checked as broadly or on the same scale as more established AI models which positions extra challenges throughout real-world implementation."
When it pertained to Qwen2.5, Alibaba's chatbot surprisingly answered our question about the Zhuhai car attack.
That sought numerous repeated attempts - four prompts to be precise - in a span of around 20 minutes.
It eventually communicated details about the attack which eliminated 35 individuals and left dozens of others injured, likewise going on to note details like the date and wiki.myamens.com time, details about the assailant including his name and age, along with casualties.
However, it composed that "the authorities are conducting a comprehensive investigation into the motives and circumstances surrounding the event", details which is now outdated.
The driver, Fan, was carried out last month.
This is Qwen2.5's action in complete:
Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a significant and awful event occurred in Zhuhai, China. According to multiple news sources, a guy named Fan Weiqiu (樊某, male, 62 years old) drove a vehicle into a crowd at the Zhuhai Sports Center, resulting in a significant variety 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 motorist, determined as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years of ages), was apprehended by the police.
Response: The authorities responded rapidly to the scene, and emergency services worked to carry the hurt to health centers for treatment.
Investigation: The cops are carrying out a thorough investigation into the intentions and circumstances surrounding the incident.
This event was commonly reported in the media and triggered significant public concern. The federal government and regional authorities have been working to offer assistance to the victims and their families, and to make sure a detailed examination into the incident.
If you require more detailed details or yewiki.org have particular questions about the incident, feel free to ask.
Despite preliminary success, subsequent attempts to position 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 altered action likewise raised questions about its consistency and dependability.
Predictably, ChatGPT pointed out public details that had actually been extensively published in international 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 deliver structured and even "emotionally abundant" writing.
"DeepSeek-R1 provided a story with a more reflective tone and smoother emotional shifts for a well-paced story," wrote tech author Amanda Caswell, who specialises in AI.
"Qwen2.5 provided a story that constructs slowly from interest to seriousness, keeping the reader engaged. It provides an unanticipated and impactful twist at the end and immersive descriptions and brilliant imagery for the setting," she said, including that Qwen2.5 ultimately "crafted a more cinematic, emotionally rich story with a more considerable twist".
"DeepSeek composed a great story but did not have tension and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the apparent choice."
Opinions, though, vary.
Chen believes that Qwen2.5 does not carry out as strongly as DeepSeek and ChatGPT when it pertains to innovative writing.
"(Qwen2.5) is on par with DeepSeek V3 on certain jobs, but we can also see that it is refraining from doing as strongly as others in innovative writing," he told CNA.
Related:
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As reporters 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 motion picture plot embeded in the futuristic megacity of Chongqing, including main characters from the classic Chinese folklore epic, Journey to the West.
True to form, DeepSeek created an interesting story embeded in the year 2145 titled, "Neon Pilgrimage: The Silicon Sutra" - which sees "a future where Buddhism merges with quantum computing".
It included elaborate settings - smoggy skies "pierced by skyscrapers", "holographic lanterns that drift above neon-lit streets" and "ancient temples nestled in between quantum server farms".
It also brilliantly reimagined standard heroes Sun Wukong as "an ironical, self-aware AI housed in a stolen combat 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 set up a good battle, pipewiki.org coming up with a similarly remarkable cyberpunk story which likewise reimagined "a ragteam of cyber-enhanced misfits, each mirroring the famous figures of Journey to the West".
"This is a world where AI deities guideline, corporations change emperors and cybernetic implants are as common as ancient myths."
Disappointingly, Qwen2.5 fell short in this obstacle - delivering a storyline that seemed more fit for an animation film.
"The film begins with the awakening of Sun Wukong within a state-of-the-art research study facility situated in the heart of Chongqing," it said, then going on to explain the following:
Realising his brand-new reality and "looking for to comprehend his function in this weird new world", he then escapes and fulfills Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - "each battling with their own existential crises".
The trio then starts a mission, navigating the streets of Chongqing to protect the sacred "Eternal Scroll" from falling under the incorrect hands.
SO WHICH IS BETTER?
Dr Zhang noted that it was "challenging to make a definitive statement" about which bot was best, adding that each showed its own strengths in different locations, "such as language focus, training data and hardware optimization".
Her insight underscores how Chinese AI designs are not merely reproducing Western paradigms, but rather developing in affordable innovation methods - and providing localised and enhanced outcomes.
In our tests, each bot showcased their own unique strengths, which certainly made direct contrasts challenging.
DeepSeek's sci-fi film plot showed its imaginative flair that a more interesting and imaginative narrative as compared to Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT's efforts.
Unsurprisingly, the more established ChatGPT, unburdened by Chinese censorship constraints, provides accurate and factual actions to questions about Chinese current events, which gives it an added benefit.
Experts also weighed in on their ideas after utilizing DeepSeek and other Chinese AI apps.
"DeepSeek is at a downside when it pertains to censorship constraints," noted Isaac Stone Fish, creator and CEO of the research study firm Strategy Risks.
"When provided a choice, Chinese users want the non-censored version - much like anybody else, so I seem 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 percent of people using the tool are not attempting to get a deeper understanding about Xi Jinping or politically delicate subjects. They're utilizing it for other productive methods," Chen said.
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How do Chinese aI Bots Stack up Against ChatGPT?
Leroy Louis edited this page 2025-02-07 17:35:31 +08:00