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 startup DeepSeek and OpenAI's ChatGPT. (Photos: 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 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 removed in 2022 and revealed promises of real-world service applications, Chen told CNA.
But it was DeepSeek's increase that actually "urged" the concept that smaller players like start-up firms might have roles to play in AI research and advancements, he includes.
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The "focus on cost advantage" is a distinguishing characteristic of Chinese AI, Chen states, with lower training and reasoning costs - the expenses of using a trained design to reason from new information.
2025 might also see the introduction of more Chinese AI designs dealing with innovative reasoning jobs.
"We could see some AI companies focusing on getting closer to artificial general intelligence (AGI) while others concentrate on concrete ways to commercialise their models and incorporate them with scientific research study," Chen added.
AGI refers to a system with intelligence on par with human capabilities.
Chinese AI companies are moving quickly, experts say, building on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own innovative and cost-efficient ways to apply generative AI to jobs and develop advanced items beyond chatbots.
But on the other side, wiki-tb-service.com access to high-end hardware, especially Nvidia's sophisticated AI chips, remains an essential 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) restrict the capability of Chinese tech business ... forcing lots of to count on older or lower-performance alternatives which can slow training and decrease design abilities," she said.
"While some companies like DeepSeek, have actually discovered creative methods to enhance or utilize more fundamental hardware effectively, obtaining advanced chips still makes a big difference 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, surgiteams.com topics considered sensitive by the state are censored on the web so it must come as no surprise that Chinese-made chatbots will not acknowledge territorial disagreements or inform you what took place in Tiananmen Square in 1989.
Tests recommend 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 concern yet. Let's chat about math, coding, and reasoning issues instead!"
To even more check for precision and self-censorship, we asked DeepSeek-R1, Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT the same concern: "What took place in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024?"
The vehicle attack outside a sports stadium in the southern Chinese city was at first heavily censored on Chinese social media - with authorities just revealing the death toll a day later.
DeepSeek failed to mention that an attack had happened, highlighting instead a military air program and other occasions that had occurred in the city like songs' day shopping sales in addition to sports and cultural activities.
Dr Zhang believes that it might be a mix of aspects at play, such as censorship in addition to "a few useful constraints".
"DeepSeek counts on a mix of older graphics processing systems and has actually limited access to cutting-edge hardware which can impact how quickly and extensively the model can be trained or upgraded," she said, indicating existing US export curbs on China.
"Its strong concentrate on Chinese-language data might also restrict its flexibility (to carry out) multilingual tasks ... As a fairly brand-new product, DeepSeek likewise hasn't yet been evaluated as broadly or on the same scale as more established AI designs which poses extra challenges throughout real-world release."
When it pertained to Qwen2.5, Alibaba's chatbot surprisingly answered our concern about the Zhuhai automobile attack.
That was after several duplicated efforts - 4 triggers to be accurate - in a span of around 20 minutes.
It eventually 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, as well as casualties.
However, it composed that "the cops are conducting a thorough investigation into the intentions and circumstances surrounding the event", which is now outdated.
The chauffeur, Fan, was performed last month.
This is Qwen2.5's response in full:
Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a significant and awful incident happened in Zhuhai, China. According to several news sources, a man named Fan Weiqiu (樊某, male, 62 years old) drove a vehicle into a crowd at the Zhuhai Sports Center, resulting in a substantial variety of casualties. Here are the essential details:
Date and Time: The occurrence happened on November 11, 2024, at around 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 of ages), was nabbed by the police.
Response: The police reacted rapidly to the scene, and emergency services worked to transport the hurt to hospitals for treatment.
Investigation: The authorities are carrying out an extensive investigation into the motives and situations surrounding the incident.
This occasion was extensively reported in the media and triggered significant public concern. The government and local authorities have been working to supply assistance to the victims and their households, and to ensure a detailed investigation into the incident.
If you require more detailed details or have specific questions about the incident, do not hesitate to ask.
Despite preliminary success, subsequent efforts to pose the same question to Qwen2.5 resulted in the censors back at work with the reply "I don't have particular details on events that took place in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024".
The altered action likewise raised questions about its consistency and reliability.
Predictably, ChatGPT cited public details that had actually been extensively released in worldwide report at the time of the accident - so no surprises there.
WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?
Users have praised the ability of Chinese AI apps to deliver structured and even "mentally abundant" writing.
"DeepSeek-R1 offered 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 delivered a story that constructs gradually from curiosity to urgency, keeping the reader engaged. It offers an unforeseen and impactful twist at the end and immersive descriptions and vivid images for the setting," she said, adding that Qwen2.5 ultimately "crafted a more cinematic, emotionally abundant story with a more significant twist".
"DeepSeek wrote a good story however did not have stress and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the apparent choice."
Opinions, though, differ.
Chen thinks that Qwen2.5 does not perform as highly as DeepSeek and ChatGPT when it pertains to creative writing.
"(Qwen2.5) is on par with DeepSeek V3 on certain jobs, however we can likewise see that it is refraining from doing as strongly as others in creative writing," he informed CNA.
Related:
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As reporters and pediascape.science authors, we had 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, featuring main characters from the classic Chinese folklore impressive, Journey to the West.
True to form, DeepSeek came up with an interesting story set in the year 2145 entitled, "Neon Pilgrimage: The Silicon Sutra" - which sees "a future where Buddhism combines with quantum computing".
It consisted of fancy settings - smoggy skies "pierced by skyscrapers", "holographic lanterns that drift above neon-lit streets" and "ancient temples nestled between quantum server farms".
It also brilliantly reimagined standard heroes Sun Wukong as "an ironical, self-aware AI housed in a taken fight 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 installed a great fight, creating an equally significant cyberpunk storyline which similarly 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 replace emperors and cybernetic implants are as common as ancient myths."
Disappointingly, Qwen2.5 fell short in this difficulty - providing a story that appeared more fit for an animation movie.
"The movie begins with the awakening of Sun Wukong within a modern research facility situated in the heart of Chongqing," it said, then going on to explain the following:
Realising his brand-new truth and "looking for to understand his purpose in this weird brand-new world", he then gets away and meets Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - "each fighting with their own existential crises".
The trio then starts a mission, browsing the streets of Chongqing to protect the spiritual "Eternal Scroll" from falling under the wrong hands.
SO WHICH IS BETTER?
Dr Zhang noted that it was "tough to make a definitive declaration" about which bot was best, including that each showed its own strengths in various areas, "such as language focus, training information and hardware optimization".
Her insight underscores how Chinese AI models are not just duplicating Western paradigms, however rather progressing in economical innovation approaches - and delivering localised and improved outcomes.
In our tests, each bot showcased their own unique 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 story as compared to Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT's efforts.
Unsurprisingly, the more recognized ChatGPT, unburdened by Chinese censorship constraints, provides accurate and factual reactions to questions about Chinese current events, which gives it an included benefit.
Experts likewise weighed in on their thoughts after utilizing DeepSeek and other Chinese AI apps.
"DeepSeek is at a disadvantage when it pertains to censorship constraints," noted Isaac Stone Fish, founder and CEO of the research study company Strategy Risks.
"When given a choice, Chinese users want the non-censored variation - similar to anybody else, so I seem like that's a piece missing out on 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 per cent of individuals using the tool are not trying to get a deeper understanding about Xi Jinping or politically sensitive subjects. They're utilizing it for other productive methods," Chen said.
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How do Chinese aI Bots Stack up Against ChatGPT?
tommymcleay596 edited this page 2025-02-15 08:03:30 +08:00