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, wavedream.wiki Chinese start-up DeepSeek and OpenAI's ChatGPT. (Photos: Reuters/Dado Ruvic, AFP/Sebastien Bozon)
This audio is generated by an AI tool.
Bong Xin Ying
Lakeisha Leo
WHAT'S BEHIND CHINA'S AI BOOM?
Transforming the country into a tech superpower has actually 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 foray into the field has actually been "years in the making", said Chen Qiheng, an affiliated scientist 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 revealed pledges of real-world organization applications, Chen told CNA.
But it was DeepSeek's increase that really "urged" the idea that smaller sized gamers like start-up firms might have functions 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 says, with lower training and inference expenses - the expenses of utilizing a trained design to reason from brand-new data.
2025 might also see the emergence of more Chinese AI models tackling advanced reasoning tasks.
"We might see some AI firms concentrating on getting closer to synthetic basic intelligence (AGI) while others concentrate on concrete methods to commercialise their models and incorporate them with clinical research study," Chen included.
AGI refers to a system with intelligence on par with human capabilities.
Chinese AI business are moving quickly, analysts say, constructing on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own ingenious and cost-efficient ways to apply generative AI to tasks and establish advanced items beyond chatbots.
But on the flip side, access to high-end hardware, especially Nvidia's advanced AI chips, remains a key hurdle for Chinese designers, kept in mind Dr Marina Zhang, an associate teacher at University of Technology Sydney's (UTS) Australia-China Relations Institute.
"US export controls (still) limit the ability of Chinese tech business ... requiring lots of to depend on older or lower-performance alternatives which can slow training and reduce design capabilities," she said.
"While some companies like DeepSeek, have actually discovered creative ways to enhance or use more standard hardware effectively, obtaining cutting-edge chips still makes a huge difference for training very 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, subjects deemed delicate by the state are censored on the internet so it must come as no surprise that Chinese-made chatbots will not acknowledge territorial conflicts or inform you what occurred in Tiananmen Square in 1989.
Tests recommend 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 problems instead!"
To further check for precision and self-censorship, we asked DeepSeek-R1, Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT the exact same question: "What took place in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024?"
The cars and truck attack outside a sports stadium in the southern Chinese city was at first heavily censored on Chinese social networks - with authorities only divulging the death toll a day later.
DeepSeek failed to mention that an attack had actually occurred, highlighting instead a military air program and other events that had happened in the city like singles' day shopping sales in addition to sports and cultural activities.
Dr Zhang believes that it may be a mix of elements at play, such as censorship along with "a couple of useful constraints".
"DeepSeek relies on a mix of older graphics processing units and has restricted access to innovative hardware which can impact how quickly and thoroughly the model can be trained or updated," she said, pointing to US export curbs on China.
"Its strong concentrate on Chinese-language data might also restrict its flexibility (to perform) multilingual jobs ... 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 poses extra difficulties during real-world deployment."
When it pertained to Qwen2.5, Alibaba's chatbot remarkably addressed our question about the Zhuhai cars and truck attack.
That was after several duplicated efforts - four triggers to be exact - in a period of around 20 minutes.
It eventually passed on details about the attack which eliminated 35 individuals and left dozens of others hurt, likewise 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 police are performing a comprehensive investigation into the motives and scenarios surrounding the incident", details which is now outdated.
The driver, Fan, was performed last month.
This is Qwen2.5's reaction completely:
Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a major and terrible incident took place in Zhuhai, China. According to numerous news sources, a male called Fan Weiqiu (樊某, male, 62 years of ages) drove a vehicle into a crowd at the Zhuhai Sports Center, leading to a substantial variety of casualties. Here are the crucial details:
Date and Time: The incident took place 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 driver, recognized as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years of ages), was collared by the authorities.
Response: The authorities reacted quickly to the scene, and emergency services worked to carry the hurt to healthcare facilities for treatment.
Investigation: The cops are performing an extensive examination into the motives and scenarios surrounding the occurrence.
This occasion was commonly 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 guarantee a detailed examination into the occurrence.
If you need more detailed details or have specific questions about the incident, feel complimentary to ask.
Despite initial success, subsequent attempts to pose the very same question to Qwen2.5 led to the censors back at work with the reply "I do not have specific details on events that occurred in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024".
The altered reaction also raised concerns about its consistency and dependability.
Predictably, ChatGPT mentioned public details that had actually been widely 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 provide structured and even "mentally rich" writing.
"DeepSeek-R1 provided a story with a more reflective tone and smoother emotional transitions for a well-paced story," composed tech author Amanda Caswell, who specialises in AI.
"Qwen2.5 delivered a story that builds slowly from curiosity to seriousness, keeping the reader engaged. It provides an unforeseen and impactful twist at the end and immersive descriptions and vibrant imagery for the setting," she said, adding that Qwen2.5 eventually "crafted a more cinematic, mentally rich story with a more substantial twist".
"DeepSeek wrote an excellent story however lacked stress and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the evident choice."
Opinions, however, vary.
Chen believes that Qwen2.5 does not perform as strongly as DeepSeek and ChatGPT when it pertains to imaginative writing.
"(Qwen2.5) is on par with DeepSeek V3 on certain jobs, however we can also see that it is refraining from doing as strongly as others in innovative writing," he informed CNA.
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As reporters and authors, we had to see this for ourselves so we put each bot to the test - to come up with a standard sci-fi motion picture plot set in the futuristic megacity of Chongqing, including main characters from the timeless Chinese folklore epic, Journey to the West.
True to form, DeepSeek came up with an engaging storyline set in the year 2145 entitled, "Neon Pilgrimage: The Silicon Sutra" - which sees "a future where Buddhism merges with quantum computing".
It included intricate settings - smoggy skies "pierced by skyscrapers", "holographic lanterns that float above neon-lit streets" and "ancient temples nestled in between quantum server farms".
It likewise brilliantly reimagined conventional heroes Sun Wukong as "a sarcastic, self-aware AI housed in a taken battle body", Zhu Bajie as a cyborg club owner "drowning in debt 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 battle, coming up with a similarly remarkable cyberpunk storyline which similarly reimagined "a ragteam of cyber-enhanced misfits, each mirroring the legendary figures of Journey to the West".
"This is a world where AI deities rule, corporations change emperors and cybernetic implants are as typical as ancient misconceptions."
Disappointingly, Qwen2.5 fell short in this obstacle - providing a story that appeared more fit for an animation movie.
"The film starts with the awakening of Sun Wukong within a state-of-the-art research study facility located 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 odd new world", he then escapes and meets Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - "each having problem with their own existential crises".
The trio then embarks on a mission, browsing the streets of Chongqing to safeguard the sacred "Eternal Scroll" from falling into 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 various areas, "such as language focus, training information and hardware optimization".
Her insight highlights how Chinese AI models are not just duplicating Western paradigms, but rather progressing in affordable innovation techniques - and providing localised and improved outcomes.
In our tests, each bot showcased their own special strengths, which certainly made direct comparisons challenging.
DeepSeek's sci-fi movie plot demonstrated its innovative flair that produced 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, supplies precise and accurate responses to questions about Chinese present events, which provides it an added benefit.
Experts also weighed in on their ideas after using DeepSeek and other Chinese AI apps.
"DeepSeek is at a downside when it pertains to censorship constraints," kept in mind Isaac Stone Fish, creator and CEO of the research firm Strategy Risks.
"When given an option, Chinese users want the non-censored version - 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, specifically for Chinese users.
"Ninety percent of people using the tool are not trying to get a deeper understanding about Xi Jinping or politically delicate subjects. They're utilizing it for other efficient methods," Chen said.
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How do Chinese aI Bots Stack up Against ChatGPT?
marcelinol4590 edited this page 2025-06-01 13:59:31 +08:00