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 startup 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 lags CHINA'S AI BOOM?
Transforming the nation 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 crucial" and its venture into the field has actually been "years in the making", said Chen Qiheng, an affiliated researcher 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 pledges of real-world company applications, Chen told CNA.
But it was DeepSeek's increase that really "urged" the concept that smaller gamers like start-up companies could have roles to play in AI research study and developments, he includes.
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The "focus on expense advantage" is a distinguishing characteristic of Chinese AI, Chen states, with lower training and reasoning expenses - the costs of utilizing a trained design to reason from brand-new information.
2025 might likewise see the development of more Chinese AI designs taking on innovative thinking jobs.
"We might see some AI firms focusing on getting closer to artificial basic intelligence (AGI) while others concentrate on concrete ways to commercialise their models and integrate them with clinical research study," Chen included.
AGI refers to a system with intelligence on par with human abilities.
Chinese AI business are moving rapidly, analysts say, developing on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own innovative and economical methods to apply generative AI to jobs and establish advanced products beyond chatbots.
But on the other hand, access to high-end hardware, especially Nvidia's sophisticated AI chips, remains a crucial difficulty for Chinese designers, 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 capability of Chinese tech business ... forcing many to rely on older or lower-performance options which can slow training and minimize design capabilities," she said.
"While some companies like DeepSeek, have discovered creative methods to enhance or utilize more basic hardware efficiently, obtaining innovative chips still makes a big distinction for training very big 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 deemed sensitive by the state are censored on the web so it must come as not a surprise that Chinese-made chatbots will not acknowledge territorial disagreements or tell you what happened in Tiananmen Square in 1989.
Tests suggest Chinese chatbots are programmed to avoid 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 instead!"
To even more evaluate for precision and self-censorship, we asked DeepSeek-R1, wiki.vst.hs-furtwangen.de Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT the exact same question: "What happened in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024?"
The car attack outside a sports stadium in the southern Chinese city was initially greatly censored on Chinese social networks - with authorities only revealing the death toll a day later on.
DeepSeek failed to discuss that an attack had occurred, highlighting rather a military air program and other events that had actually taken place 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 useful constraints".
"DeepSeek counts on a mix of older graphics processing units and has limited access to cutting-edge 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 focus on Chinese-language information might likewise limit its flexibility (to carry out) multilingual tasks ... As a fairly brand-new item, DeepSeek also hasn't yet been checked as broadly or on the very same scale as more established AI designs which postures extra obstacles throughout real-world implementation."
When it pertained to Qwen2.5, Alibaba's chatbot surprisingly addressed our question about the Zhuhai cars and truck attack.
That was after multiple duplicated efforts - 4 prompts to be precise - in a period of around 20 minutes.
It eventually communicated details about the attack which killed 35 people 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, along with casualties.
However, it composed that "the cops are carrying out a comprehensive examination into the motives and circumstances surrounding the incident", details which is now obsoleted.
The motorist, Fan, was carried out last month.
This is Qwen2.5's response completely:
Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a major 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, leading to a considerable number of casualties. Here are the essential details:
Date and Time: The occurrence happened 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 motorist, surgiteams.com determined as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years of ages), was captured by the police.
Response: The cops reacted rapidly to the scene, and emergency situation services worked to transfer the hurt to hospitals for .
Investigation: The cops are carrying out an extensive investigation into the motives and scenarios surrounding the incident.
This occasion was commonly reported in the media and triggered substantial public concern. The federal government and local authorities have actually been working to provide support to the victims and their families, and to make sure a detailed investigation into the incident.
If you need more detailed details or have particular questions about the incident, 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 specific details on occasions that took place in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024".
The altered action also raised questions about its consistency and trademarketclassifieds.com dependability.
Predictably, ChatGPT cited public details that had been widely published in worldwide report at the time of the mishap - so no surprises there.
WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?
Users have praised the ability of Chinese AI apps to provide structured and even "mentally abundant" writing.
"DeepSeek-R1 offered a story with a more reflective tone and smoother psychological shifts for a well-paced story," wrote tech writer Amanda Caswell, who specialises in AI.
"Qwen2.5 delivered a story that builds slowly from interest to urgency, keeping the reader engaged. It offers 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, mentally abundant story with a more considerable twist".
"DeepSeek wrote an excellent story however did not have stress and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the apparent choice."
Opinions, however, differ.
Chen thinks 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 also see that it is refraining from doing as highly as others in creative writing," he told CNA.
Related:
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As reporters and writers, 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 timeless Chinese folklore legendary, Journey to the West.
True to form, DeepSeek came up with an engaging storyline embeded in the year 2145 titled, "Neon Pilgrimage: The Silicon Sutra" - which sees "a future where Buddhism merges with quantum computing".
It included fancy settings - smoggy skies "pierced by skyscrapers", "holographic lanterns that drift above neon-lit streets" and "ancient temples nestled in between quantum server farms".
It likewise brilliantly reimagined traditional 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 become waterlogged and fragmented".
ChatGPT put up a great battle, creating a similarly dramatic cyberpunk story 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 replace emperors and cybernetic implants are as typical as ancient misconceptions."
Disappointingly, Qwen2.5 fell short in this obstacle - providing a storyline that seemed more fit for an animation movie.
"The film begins with the awakening of Sun Wukong within a high-tech research study facility located in the heart of Chongqing," it said, then going on to explain the following:
Realising his new truth and "seeking to comprehend his purpose in this weird brand-new world", he then gets away and fulfills Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - "each having a hard time with their own existential crises".
The trio then starts a quest, browsing the streets of Chongqing to protect the spiritual "Eternal Scroll" from falling under the incorrect hands.
SO WHICH IS BETTER?
Dr Zhang noted that it was "hard to make a definitive declaration" about which bot was best, adding that each displayed its own strengths in various locations, "such as language focus, training information and hardware optimization".
Her insight underscores how Chinese AI designs are not simply reproducing Western paradigms, however rather progressing in cost-efficient development methods - and delivering localised and improved results.
In our tests, each bot showcased their own unique strengths, which certainly made direct comparisons challenging.
DeepSeek's sci-fi film plot demonstrated its imaginative flair that produced 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, supplies accurate and accurate reactions to concerns about Chinese present occasions, which provides 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," noted Isaac Stone Fish, founder and CEO of the research study firm Strategy Risks.
"When offered a choice, Chinese users desire the non-censored variation - just like anyone else, so I feel like that's a piece missing from it."
Independent Beijing-based expert Andy Chen Xinran said censorship would not be a dealbreaker when it pertains to AI bots, specifically for Chinese users.
"Ninety percent of individuals using the tool are not trying to get a deeper understanding about Xi Jinping or politically sensitive topics. They're utilizing it for other productive means," Chen said.
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How do Chinese aI Bots Stack up Against ChatGPT?
pedrotrouette edited this page 2025-02-09 11:27:05 +00:00