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, hb9lc.org 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 lags CHINA'S AI BOOM?
Transforming the nation into a tech superpower has actually long been President Xi Jinping's goal and China has its sights on becoming the world leader in AI by 2030.
China views AI as being "strategically crucial" and its foray into the field has 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 investments in Chinese AI sped up after ChatGPT removed in 2022 and showed guarantees of real-world company applications, Chen told CNA.
But it was DeepSeek's rise that really "encouraged" the concept that smaller gamers like start-up companies could have roles to play in AI research and developments, he adds.
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The "focus on cost advantage" is a distinguishing characteristic of Chinese AI, Chen states, with lower training and reasoning expenses - the expenses of utilizing a trained model to reason from brand-new information.
2025 could likewise see the emergence of more Chinese AI models taking on advanced reasoning jobs.
"We could see some AI companies concentrating on getting closer to synthetic general intelligence (AGI) while others concentrate on concrete ways to commercialise their models and incorporate them with scientific research study," Chen included.
AGI describes a system with on par with human capabilities.
Chinese AI business are moving rapidly, analysts state, building on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own ingenious and cost-efficient methods to apply generative AI to tasks and develop advanced items beyond chatbots.
But on the flip side, access to high-end hardware, particularly Nvidia's innovative AI chips, remains an essential hurdle for Chinese designers, noted 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 companies ... requiring numerous to rely on older or lower-performance alternatives which can slow training and decrease model abilities," she said.
"While some companies like DeepSeek, have discovered creative methods to optimize or utilize more basic hardware effectively, obtaining cutting-edge chips still makes a huge distinction for training huge 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 considered delicate by the state are censored on the web so it must come as no surprise that Chinese-made chatbots will not acknowledge territorial disputes or tell you what took place in Tiananmen Square in 1989.
Tests suggest Chinese chatbots are configured to stay away from 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 reasoning issues instead!"
To further test for precision and self-censorship, we asked DeepSeek-R1, Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT the very same concern: "What occurred in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024?"
The vehicle attack outside a sports stadium in the southern Chinese city was at first greatly censored on Chinese social networks - with authorities only revealing the death toll a day later.
DeepSeek failed to discuss that an attack had actually taken location, highlighting rather a military air program and other occasions that had taken place in the city like singles' day shopping sales along with sports and cultural activities.
Dr Zhang believes that it might be a mix of elements at play, such as censorship along with "a couple of useful constraints".
"DeepSeek counts on a mix of older graphics processing units and has restricted access to innovative hardware which can impact how rapidly and thoroughly the model can be trained or updated," she said, pointing to existing US export curbs on China.
"Its strong concentrate on Chinese-language data may also limit its adaptability (to perform) multilingual jobs ... As a fairly new item, DeepSeek also hasn't yet been checked as broadly or on the same scale as more recognized AI designs which postures additional difficulties throughout real-world release."
When it pertained to Qwen2.5, Alibaba's chatbot surprisingly addressed our concern about the Zhuhai vehicle attack.
That sought multiple repeated efforts - four prompts to be precise - in a span of around 20 minutes.
It ultimately relayed details about the attack which killed 35 individuals and left dozens of others injured, wiki.whenparked.com likewise 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 wrote that "the authorities are performing an extensive examination into the motives and situations surrounding the incident", details which is now obsoleted.
The driver, Fan, was executed last month.
This is Qwen2.5's action completely:
Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a significant and tragic incident occurred in Zhuhai, China. According to several news sources, a man called Fan Weiqiu (樊某, male, 62 years of ages) drove a vehicle into a crowd at the Zhuhai Sports Center, resulting in a considerable number of casualties. Here are the key details:
Date and Time: The incident occurred 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 chauffeur, identified as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years old), was collared by the police.
Response: The police reacted quickly to the scene, and emergency situation services worked to transfer the hurt to health centers for treatment.
Investigation: higgledy-piggledy.xyz The authorities are performing a thorough investigation into the intentions and situations surrounding the event.
This event was widely reported in the media and triggered considerable public issue. The government and regional authorities have been working to offer assistance to the victims and their families, and to guarantee a detailed investigation into the incident.
If you require more detailed details or have particular questions about the incident, feel complimentary to ask.
Despite initial success, subsequent efforts to position the very same concern to Qwen2.5 led to the censors back at work with the reply "I do not have particular details on occasions that happened in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024".
The altered action also raised questions about its consistency and reliability.
Predictably, ChatGPT pointed out public details that had actually been widely released in global 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 rich" writing.
"DeepSeek-R1 provided a story with a more introspective tone and smoother psychological transitions for a well-paced story," composed 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 uses an unforeseen and impactful twist at the end and immersive descriptions and vibrant images for the setting," she said, including that Qwen2.5 eventually "crafted a more cinematic, mentally rich story with a more substantial twist".
"DeepSeek wrote a great story however did not have stress and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the evident choice."
Opinions, though, vary.
Chen thinks that Qwen2.5 does not perform as highly as DeepSeek and ChatGPT when it pertains to imaginative writing.
"(Qwen2.5) is on par with DeepSeek V3 on certain tasks, but we can also see that it is refraining from doing as strongly as others in innovative writing," he informed 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, featuring main characters from the traditional Chinese folklore epic, trademarketclassifieds.com Journey to the West.
True to form, DeepSeek developed an interesting story set in the year 2145 titled, "Neon Pilgrimage: The Silicon Sutra" - which sees "a future where Buddhism combines with quantum computing".
It included sophisticated 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 standard heroes Sun Wukong as "a sarcastic, self-aware AI housed in a stolen battle 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, wiki.whenparked.com whose "memory cores become waterlogged and fragmented".
ChatGPT installed an excellent battle, creating a similarly significant cyberpunk storyline 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 common as ancient misconceptions."
Disappointingly, Qwen2.5 fell short in this challenge - providing a story that seemed more matched for an animation film.
"The movie starts with the awakening of Sun Wukong within a high-tech research facility situated in the heart of Chongqing," it said, then going on to explain the following:
Realising his new truth and "seeking to understand his function in this unusual brand-new world", he then gets away and meets Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - "each struggling with their own existential crises".
The trio then embarks on 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 "difficult to make a conclusive declaration" 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 underscores how Chinese AI models are not simply replicating Western paradigms, however rather progressing in cost-efficient development techniques - and delivering localised and improved results.
In our tests, each bot showcased their own distinct strengths, which certainly made direct contrasts challenging.
DeepSeek's sci-fi film plot demonstrated its imaginative flair that made for a more engaging and creative narrative as compared to Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT's efforts.
Unsurprisingly, the more recognized ChatGPT, unburdened by Chinese censorship constraints, supplies accurate and factual reactions to concerns about Chinese current occasions, which offers it an included benefit.
Experts also weighed in on their thoughts after using DeepSeek and other Chinese AI apps.
"DeepSeek is at a drawback when it pertains to censorship constraints," noted Isaac Stone Fish, founder and CEO of the research study company Strategy Risks.
"When provided a choice, Chinese users desire the non-censored version - similar to anybody else, so I feel like that's a piece missing from it."
Independent Beijing-based specialist 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 trying to get a deeper understanding about Xi Jinping or politically delicate topics. They're utilizing it for other productive methods," Chen said.
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How do Chinese aI Bots Stack up Against ChatGPT?
nydiagallo533 edited this page 2025-02-20 15:54:22 +08:00