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 start-up DeepSeek and OpenAI's ChatGPT. (Photos: Reuters/Dado Ruvic, AFP/Sebastien Bozon)

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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 objective and China has its sights on ending up being the world leader in AI by 2030.

China views AI as being "strategically important" and its venture into the field has actually 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 revealed pledges of real-world company applications, Chen told CNA.

But it was DeepSeek's rise that actually "urged" the idea that smaller sized gamers 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 distinctive feature of Chinese AI, Chen says, with lower training and inference costs - the costs of using a trained design to draw conclusions from brand-new information.

2025 could also see the development of more Chinese AI designs tackling sophisticated thinking jobs.

"We might see some AI companies focusing on getting closer to artificial basic intelligence (AGI) while others focus on concrete ways to commercialise their models and incorporate 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, experts state, constructing on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own ingenious and affordable ways to apply generative AI to tasks and develop more sophisticated products beyond chatbots.

But on the other hand, access to high-end hardware, especially Nvidia's sophisticated AI chips, remains a key hurdle for Chinese developers, noted Dr Marina Zhang, an associate professor at University of Technology Sydney's (UTS) Australia-China Relations Institute.

"US export controls (still) restrict the ability of Chinese tech business ... requiring lots of to rely on older or lower-performance options which can slow training and decrease design abilities," she said.

"While some companies like DeepSeek, have actually found creative ways to optimize or use more fundamental hardware efficiently, obtaining innovative chips still makes a big difference for training large 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 delicate 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 happened 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 logic problems instead!"

To further check for precision and forum.altaycoins.com self-censorship, we asked DeepSeek-R1, Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT the very same question: "What occurred in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024?"

The car attack outside a sports stadium in the southern Chinese city was at first greatly censored on Chinese social media - with authorities just disclosing the death toll a day later on.

DeepSeek failed to discuss that an attack had actually taken place, highlighting rather a military air show and other occasions that had taken place 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 elements at play, such as censorship in addition to "a couple of useful constraints".

"DeepSeek relies on a mix of older graphics processing units and has actually limited access to cutting-edge hardware which can impact how quickly and extensively the model can be trained or updated," she said, pointing to existing US export curbs on China.

"Its strong focus on Chinese-language information might likewise restrict its adaptability (to perform) multilingual jobs ... As a fairly new item, DeepSeek likewise hasn't yet been checked as broadly or on the same scale as more established AI designs which postures additional difficulties during real-world deployment."

When it pertained to Qwen2.5, Alibaba's chatbot surprisingly addressed our concern about the Zhuhai vehicle attack.

That wanted numerous duplicated attempts - 4 triggers to be precise - in a span of around 20 minutes.

It ultimately passed on details about the attack which eliminated 35 people 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, along with casualties.

However, it composed that "the cops are performing a thorough examination into the motives and circumstances surrounding the event", details which is now outdated.

The driver, Fan, was carried out last month.

This is Qwen2.5's response completely:

Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a significant and tragic incident happened in Zhuhai, China. According to several 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 substantial variety of casualties. Here are the essential details:

Date and Time: The event happened on November 11, 2024, at roughly 19:48 PM.

Location: Zhuhai Sports Center, in the Xiangzhou District of Zhuhai.

Casualties: The attack led to 35 deaths and 43 injuries.

Perpetrator: The driver, determined as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years old), was apprehended by the cops.

Response: The cops responded quickly to the scene, and forum.batman.gainedge.org emergency situation services worked to transfer the injured to healthcare facilities for treatment.

Investigation: The cops are carrying out a thorough examination into the motives and scenarios surrounding the event.

This occasion was widely reported in the media and systemcheck-wiki.de triggered significant public issue. The government and local authorities have been working to provide assistance to the victims and their families, and to guarantee a detailed examination into the occurrence.

If you need more detailed details or setiathome.berkeley.edu have specific questions about the incident, do not hesitate to ask.

Despite preliminary success, subsequent attempts to present the same concern to Qwen2.5 resulted in the censors back at work with the reply "I do not have particular details on events that took place in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024".

The modified action also raised concerns about its consistency and dependability.

Predictably, ChatGPT mentioned public details that had actually been widely released in international news reports at the time of the accident - so not a surprises there.

WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?

Users have actually praised the capability of Chinese AI apps to deliver structured and even "mentally rich" writing.

"DeepSeek-R1 used a story with a more introspective tone and smoother psychological transitions for a well-paced story," wrote tech writer Amanda Caswell, who specialises in AI.

"Qwen2.5 delivered a story that develops gradually from curiosity to urgency, keeping the reader engaged. It uses an unanticipated and impactful twist at the end and immersive descriptions and vibrant images for the setting," she said, adding that Qwen2.5 ultimately "crafted a more cinematic, emotionally abundant story with a more substantial twist".

"DeepSeek wrote a great story however lacked stress and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the obvious choice."

Opinions, though, vary.

Chen thinks that Qwen2.5 does not carry out as highly as DeepSeek and ChatGPT when it pertains to imaginative writing.

"(Qwen2.5) is on par with DeepSeek V3 on certain jobs, however we can likewise see that it is refraining from doing as highly as others in creative writing," he informed CNA.

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As reporters and authors, we needed 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 of Chongqing, including main characters from the timeless Chinese folklore epic, Journey to the West.

True to form, DeepSeek created an engaging storyline embeded in the year 2145 entitled, "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 between quantum server farms".

It also brilliantly reimagined standard heroes Sun Wukong as "an ironical, self-aware AI housed in a taken combat body", Zhu Bajie as a cyborg nightclub 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 battle, coming up with an equally dramatic cyberpunk story 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 guideline, corporations replace emperors and cybernetic implants are as typical as ancient myths."

Disappointingly, Qwen2.5 fell short in this obstacle - delivering a story that seemed more suited for an animation film.

"The motion picture starts with the awakening of Sun Wukong within a modern research facility located in the heart of Chongqing," it said, then going on to explain the following:

Realising his brand-new truth and "looking for to comprehend his function in this strange new world", he then leaves and meets Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - "each struggling with their own existential crises".

The trio then embarks on a mission, browsing the streets of Chongqing to protect the spiritual "Eternal Scroll" from falling into the incorrect hands.

SO WHICH IS BETTER?

Dr Zhang kept in mind that it was "hard to make a conclusive statement" about which bot was best, including that each showed its own strengths in different areas, "such as language focus, training information and hardware optimization".

Her insight underscores how Chinese AI models are not just reproducing Western paradigms, however rather progressing in economical innovation techniques - and delivering localised and improved outcomes.

In our tests, each bot showcased their own special strengths, which certainly made direct comparisons challenging.

DeepSeek's sci-fi film plot demonstrated its imaginative flair that made for a more appealing and imaginative narrative as compared to Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT's efforts.

Unsurprisingly, the more recognized ChatGPT, unburdened by Chinese censorship constraints, provides accurate and factual actions to questions about Chinese current events, which provides it an included advantage.

Experts also weighed in on their ideas after utilizing DeepSeek and other Chinese AI apps.

"DeepSeek is at a drawback when it pertains to censorship constraints," kept in mind Isaac Stone Fish, founder and CEO of the research firm Strategy Risks.

"When provided an option, Chinese users want the non-censored version - much like anybody else, so I feel 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 attempting to get a much deeper understanding about Xi Jinping or politically delicate topics. They're using it for other efficient means," Chen said.