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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)

This audio is created by an AI tool.

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 accelerated after ChatGPT took off in 2022 and revealed pledges of real-world service applications, Chen informed CNA.

But it was DeepSeek's increase that really "urged" the concept that smaller gamers like start-up companies might have roles to play in AI research study and advancements, he adds.

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The "focus on cost advantage" is a distinguishing characteristic of Chinese AI, Chen states, with lower training and trademarketclassifieds.com inference expenses - the expenses of using a trained model to draw conclusions from new data.

2025 might likewise see the emergence of more Chinese AI designs taking on advanced reasoning jobs.

"We might see some AI firms focusing on getting closer to synthetic general intelligence (AGI) while others concentrate on concrete ways to commercialise their models and integrate them with scientific research study," Chen added.

AGI describes a system with intelligence on par with human capabilities.

Chinese AI companies are moving rapidly, experts say, constructing on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own ingenious and systemcheck-wiki.de cost-effective ways to use generative AI to jobs and develop more innovative items beyond chatbots.

But on the other side, access to high-end hardware, particularly Nvidia's advanced AI chips, remains a crucial obstacle for designers, 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 companies ... forcing many to count on older or lower-performance alternatives which can slow training and lower design capabilities," she said.

"While some companies like DeepSeek, have actually discovered creative methods to optimize or use more basic hardware effectively, obtaining advanced chips still makes a big distinction 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, subjects deemed delicate by the state are censored on the internet so it should come as not a surprise that Chinese-made chatbots will not acknowledge territorial disputes or tell you what happened in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Tests suggest Chinese chatbots are programmed to guide clear of 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 logic problems rather!"

To even more check for precision and self-censorship, we asked DeepSeek-R1, Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT the exact same concern: "What occurred in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024?"

The automobile attack outside a sports arena in the southern Chinese city was initially heavily censored on Chinese social networks - with authorities only disclosing the death toll a day later on.

DeepSeek failed to point out that an attack had happened, highlighting instead a military air show and other occasions that had actually happened in the city like singles' day shopping sales as well as sports and cultural activities.

Dr Zhang thinks that it may 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 systems and has actually restricted access to advanced hardware which can impact how rapidly and thoroughly the model can be trained or upgraded," she said, pointing to existing US export curbs on China.

"Its strong concentrate on Chinese-language information might also limit its flexibility (to perform) multilingual tasks ... As a fairly new item, DeepSeek also hasn't yet been checked as broadly or on the very same scale as more recognized AI designs which poses extra difficulties during real-world implementation."

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

That sought numerous repeated attempts - four prompts to be exact - in a span of around 20 minutes.

It eventually relayed details about the attack which eliminated 35 individuals and left dozens of others injured, 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 composed that "the police are performing a thorough examination into the motives and circumstances surrounding the occurrence", details which is now dated.

The chauffeur, Fan, was carried out last month.

This is Qwen2.5's response in complete:

Answer: setiathome.berkeley.edu On Nov 11, 2024, a major and terrible event happened in Zhuhai, China. According to several news sources, a male named Fan Weiqiu (樊某, male, 62 years old) drove an automobile into a crowd at the Zhuhai Sports Center, leading to a considerable number of casualties. Here are the crucial details:

Date and Time: The event happened on November 11, 2024, at approximately 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 cops.

Response: The police reacted quickly to the scene, and emergency services worked to transport the injured to health centers for treatment.

Investigation: The cops are carrying out a comprehensive examination into the motives and circumstances surrounding the occurrence.

This occasion was extensively reported in the media and caused significant public concern. The government and local authorities have been working to supply support to the victims and their families, and to ensure a detailed investigation into the event.

If you need more detailed details or disgaeawiki.info have specific questions about the event, do not hesitate to ask.

Despite initial success, subsequent efforts to present the same question to Qwen2.5 led to the censors back at work with the reply "I don't have specific details on occasions that happened in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024".

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

Predictably, ChatGPT cited public details that had been extensively released in international report at the time of the mishap - so no surprises there.

WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?

Users have praised the capability of Chinese AI apps to provide structured and even "mentally abundant" writing.

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

"Qwen2.5 provided a story that builds gradually from curiosity to seriousness, keeping the reader engaged. It provides an unexpected and impactful twist at the end and immersive descriptions and vivid images for the setting," she said, adding that Qwen2.5 eventually "crafted a more cinematic, mentally abundant story with a more significant twist".

"DeepSeek composed a good story however did not have stress and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the obvious choice."

Opinions, though, vary.

Chen believes that Qwen2.5 does not perform as highly as DeepSeek and ChatGPT when it pertains to innovative 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.

Related:

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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 fundamental sci-fi movie 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 developed an appealing 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 likewise remarkably reimagined traditional heroes Sun Wukong as "a sarcastic, self-aware AI housed in a stolen fight body", Zhu Bajie as a cyborg bar owner "drowning in financial obligation and vices" and Sha Wujing as a "quiet hulking android" from the Yangtze River, whose "memory cores end up being waterlogged and fragmented".

ChatGPT set up a good fight, creating an equally significant cyberpunk story which likewise reimagined "a ragteam of cyber-enhanced misfits, each matching the famous 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 myths."

Disappointingly, Qwen2.5 fell short in this difficulty - delivering a storyline that seemed more fit for an animation movie.

"The movie starts with the awakening of Sun Wukong within a state-of-the-art research center situated in the heart of Chongqing," it said, then going on to explain the following:

Realising his brand-new truth and "seeking to comprehend his purpose in this unusual new world", he then escapes and fulfills Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - "each struggling with their own existential crises".

The trio then starts a mission, browsing the streets of Chongqing to safeguard the spiritual "Eternal Scroll" from falling into the wrong hands.

SO WHICH IS BETTER?

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

Her insight underscores how Chinese AI designs are not merely reproducing Western paradigms, but rather developing in economical innovation approaches - and delivering localised and enhanced outcomes.

In our tests, each bot showcased their own special strengths, systemcheck-wiki.de which certainly made direct contrasts challenging.

DeepSeek's sci-fi motion picture plot showed its creative flair that made for a more appealing and creative story as compared to Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT's efforts.

Unsurprisingly, the more established ChatGPT, unburdened by Chinese censorship constraints, supplies precise and factual responses to concerns about Chinese existing events, which provides it an included advantage.

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

"DeepSeek is at a drawback when it pertains to censorship constraints," noted Isaac Stone Fish, creator and CEO of the research company Strategy Risks.

"When provided a choice, Chinese users want the non-censored variation - simply 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, it-viking.ch especially for Chinese users.

"Ninety percent of individuals utilizing the tool are not attempting to get a much deeper understanding about Xi Jinping or politically delicate subjects. They're utilizing it for other productive methods," Chen said.