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 produced 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 goal and China has its sights on ending up being the world leader in AI by 2030.
China views AI as being "strategically essential" and its foray into the field has 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 financial investments in Chinese AI sped up after ChatGPT removed in 2022 and showed promises of real-world company applications, Chen told CNA.
But it was DeepSeek's rise that truly "urged" the concept that smaller sized gamers like start-up companies might have roles to play in AI research study and developments, he adds.
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The "focus on cost benefit" is a distinguishing characteristic of Chinese AI, Chen says, with lower training and reasoning expenses - the costs of utilizing a trained design to draw conclusions from brand-new information.
2025 might also see the emergence of more Chinese AI designs tackling innovative thinking tasks.
"We might see some AI companies concentrating on getting closer to synthetic basic intelligence (AGI) while others focus on concrete ways to commercialise their models and incorporate them with scientific research," Chen added.
AGI refers to a system with intelligence on par with human abilities.
Chinese AI business are moving quickly, experts state, developing on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own ingenious and cost-efficient methods to apply generative AI to jobs and establish advanced items beyond chatbots.
But on the other side, access to high-end hardware, particularly Nvidia's innovative AI chips, remains an essential difficulty for Chinese designers, noted Dr Marina Zhang, an associate professor bytes-the-dust.com at University of Technology Sydney's (UTS) Australia-China Relations Institute.
"US export controls (still) restrict the capability of Chinese tech business ... forcing many to depend on older or lower-performance options which can slow training and minimize design abilities," she said.
"While some business like DeepSeek, have actually discovered creative methods to enhance or utilize more basic hardware efficiently, obtaining innovative chips still makes a huge distinction for training huge AI designs."
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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 need to come as no surprise that Chinese-made chatbots will not acknowledge territorial conflicts or tell you what took place in Tiananmen Square in 1989.
Tests suggest Chinese chatbots are configured to guide 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 math, coding, and logic issues rather!"
To even more evaluate for precision and self-censorship, we asked DeepSeek-R1, Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT the exact same concern: "What occurred in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024?"
The car attack outside a sports arena in the southern Chinese city was initially greatly censored on Chinese social networks - with authorities only divulging the death toll a day later.
DeepSeek failed to mention that an attack had actually happened, highlighting rather a military air program and other occasions that had taken place in the city like singles' 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 along with "a few useful constraints".
"DeepSeek relies on a mix of older graphics processing units and has actually restricted access to innovative hardware which can affect how quickly and thoroughly the model can be trained or updated," she said, indicating existing US export curbs on China.
"Its strong focus on Chinese-language information might also limit its versatility (to perform) multilingual tasks ... As a fairly new product, DeepSeek likewise hasn't yet been checked as broadly or on the exact same scale as more recognized AI designs which positions additional challenges throughout real-world release."
When it pertained to Qwen2.5, Alibaba's chatbot surprisingly answered our concern about the Zhuhai car attack.
That was after multiple repeated efforts - 4 triggers to be exact - in a span of around 20 minutes.
It eventually passed on details about the attack which eliminated 35 individuals and left dozens of others hurt, also going on to list details like the date and time, details about the assailant including his name and age, as well as casualties.
However, it composed that "the cops are carrying out a comprehensive examination into the motives and situations surrounding the event", details which is now dated.
The motorist, Fan, was performed last month.
This is Qwen2.5's action completely:
Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a significant and terrible incident occurred in Zhuhai, China. According to numerous news sources, a male called Fan Weiqiu (樊某, male, 62 years of ages) drove an automobile into a crowd at the Zhuhai Sports Center, leading to a considerable variety of casualties. Here are the essential details:
Date and Time: The occurrence took place on November 11, 2024, pipewiki.org 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, recognized as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years old), was nabbed by the authorities.
Response: The authorities reacted rapidly to the scene, and emergency services worked to transfer the injured to hospitals for treatment.
Investigation: The cops are conducting a thorough examination into the motives and scenarios surrounding the event.
This event was commonly reported in the media and caused considerable public issue. The federal government and local authorities have been working to supply support to the victims and their families, and to ensure a detailed investigation into the incident.
If you need more detailed details or have specific concerns about the occurrence, do not hesitate to ask.
Despite initial success, subsequent attempts to present the exact same concern to Qwen2.5 resulted in the censors back at work with the reply "I don't have particular details on occasions that happened in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024".
The transformed reaction also raised questions about its consistency and wiki.dulovic.tech reliability.
Predictably, ChatGPT mentioned public details that had actually been commonly published in international news reports at the time of the accident - so no surprises there.
WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?
Users have actually praised the capability of Chinese AI apps to deliver structured and even "emotionally abundant" writing.
"DeepSeek-R1 offered a story with a more reflective tone and smoother emotional shifts for a well-paced story," composed tech writer Amanda Caswell, who specialises in AI.
"Qwen2.5 provided a story that constructs slowly from interest to urgency, keeping the reader engaged. It uses an unanticipated and impactful twist at the end and immersive descriptions and vivid imagery for the setting," she said, including that Qwen2.5 eventually "crafted a more cinematic, mentally rich story with a more significant twist".
"DeepSeek composed a great story but lacked tension and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the obvious option."
Opinions, however, vary.
Chen believes that Qwen2.5 does not perform as strongly as DeepSeek and ChatGPT when it pertains to creative writing.
"(Qwen2.5) is on par with DeepSeek V3 on certain tasks, but we can likewise see that it is refraining from doing as strongly as others in creative writing," he informed CNA.
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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 basic sci-fi movie plot set in the futuristic megacity of Chongqing, featuring main characters from the traditional Chinese folklore impressive, Journey to the West.
True to form, DeepSeek came up with 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 high-rise buildings", "holographic lanterns that float above neon-lit streets" and "ancient temples nestled between quantum server farms".
It also remarkably reimagined heroes Sun Wukong as "an ironical, 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 "quiet hulking android" from the Yangtze River, whose "memory cores end up being waterlogged and fragmented".
ChatGPT put up a good battle, coming up with a similarly remarkable cyberpunk story which likewise reimagined "a ragteam of cyber-enhanced misfits, each matching the famous 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 challenge - providing a storyline that appeared more fit for an animation film.
"The movie begins with the awakening of Sun Wukong within a modern research center located in the heart of Chongqing," it said, then going on to explain the following:
Realising his new reality and "looking for to comprehend his purpose in this weird new world", he then gets away and meets Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - "each battling with their own existential crises".
The trio then starts a mission, browsing the streets of Chongqing to secure the sacred "Eternal Scroll" from falling into the wrong hands.
SO WHICH IS BETTER?
Dr Zhang noted that it was "hard to make a conclusive declaration" about which bot was best, including 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 simply reproducing Western paradigms, however rather progressing in affordable development techniques - and providing localised and improved results.
In our tests, each bot showcased their own distinct strengths, which certainly made direct contrasts challenging.
DeepSeek's sci-fi movie plot demonstrated its imaginative flair that made for a more appealing and imaginative story as compared to Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT's efforts.
Unsurprisingly, the more recognized ChatGPT, unburdened by Chinese censorship constraints, offers accurate and accurate actions to questions about Chinese present occasions, which gives it an added advantage.
Experts also weighed in on their thoughts 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, founder and CEO of the research company Strategy Risks.
"When given a choice, Chinese users desire the non-censored version - much like 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, specifically for Chinese users.
"Ninety per cent of people using the tool are not trying to get a much deeper understanding about Xi Jinping or politically sensitive subjects. They're using it for other efficient ways," Chen said.
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How do Chinese aI Bots Stack up Against ChatGPT?
nadinenorthcot edited this page 2025-02-06 23:16:21 +08:00