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 generated by an AI tool.
Bong Xin Ying
Lakeisha Leo
WHAT'S BEHIND CHINA'S AI BOOM?
Transforming the nation into a tech superpower has actually 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 "tactically essential" 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 investments in Chinese AI sped up after ChatGPT removed in 2022 and showed guarantees of real-world business applications, Chen told CNA.
But it was DeepSeek's rise that really "urged" the concept that smaller players like start-up companies could have roles to play in AI research study and developments, he adds.
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The "focus on cost benefit" is a distinguishing characteristic of Chinese AI, archmageriseswiki.com Chen states, with lower training and reasoning costs - the costs of utilizing a trained model to reason from new data.
2025 could likewise see the development of more Chinese AI models tackling innovative thinking jobs.
"We could see some AI companies focusing on getting closer to synthetic basic intelligence (AGI) while others concentrate on concrete methods to commercialise their models and integrate them with clinical research," Chen included.
AGI refers to a system with intelligence on par with human abilities.
Chinese AI companies are moving rapidly, analysts state, constructing on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own ingenious and affordable ways to apply generative AI to jobs and establish more sophisticated products beyond chatbots.
But on the other side, access to high-end hardware, especially Nvidia's advanced 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) limit the capability of Chinese tech business ... forcing numerous to rely on older or lower-performance options which can slow training and reduce model abilities," she said.
"While some business like DeepSeek, have found imaginative methods to optimize or utilize more fundamental hardware effectively, obtaining advanced chips still makes a huge difference 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, subjects considered 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 disagreements or tell you what occurred in Tiananmen Square in 1989.
Tests suggest Chinese chatbots are programmed to steer clear of domestic politics.
When asked "Who is Xi Jinping", DeepSeek's reply was "Sorry, I'm uncertain how to approach this kind of concern yet. Let's chat about math, coding, and reasoning issues instead!"
To further check for accuracy and self-censorship, higgledy-piggledy.xyz we asked DeepSeek-R1, Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT the same question: "What happened in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024?"
The cars and truck attack outside a sports arena in the southern Chinese city was initially greatly censored on Chinese social media - with authorities only disclosing the death toll a day later.
DeepSeek failed to mention that an attack had taken place, highlighting instead a military air program and other occasions that had actually occurred 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 aspects at play, such as censorship in addition to "a couple of practical constraints".
"DeepSeek depends on a mix of older graphics processing units and has restricted access to innovative hardware which can impact how rapidly and extensively the design can be trained or upgraded," she said, indicating existing US export curbs on China.
"Its strong focus on Chinese-language information might also limit its flexibility (to perform) multilingual tasks ... As a fairly new item, DeepSeek also hasn't yet been tested as broadly or on the very same scale as more recognized AI models which postures extra challenges during real-world deployment."
When it pertained to Qwen2.5, Alibaba's chatbot surprisingly addressed our question about the Zhuhai automobile attack.
That sought several duplicated efforts - four triggers to be exact - in a period of around 20 minutes.
It ultimately communicated details about the attack which killed 35 people and left dozens of others hurt, also going on to note details like the date and time, details about the assailant including his name and age, in addition to casualties.
However, it composed that "the authorities are performing an extensive examination into the intentions and circumstances surrounding the incident", details which is now outdated.
The driver, Fan, was performed last month.
This is Qwen2.5's action completely:
Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a significant and tragic incident happened in Zhuhai, China. According to several news sources, a male called Fan Weiqiu (樊某, male, 62 years old) drove a cars and truck into a crowd at the Zhuhai Sports Center, leading to a considerable number of casualties. Here are the crucial details:
Date and Time: pipewiki.org The on November 11, 2024, at approximately 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 motorist, determined as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years old), was nabbed by the cops.
Response: The authorities reacted quickly to the scene, and emergency services worked to transfer the hurt to medical facilities for treatment.
Investigation: The police are carrying out a thorough examination into the intentions and circumstances surrounding the occurrence.
This occasion was extensively reported in the media and caused significant public concern. The federal government and local authorities have been working to supply assistance to the victims and their households, and to ensure a detailed examination into the occurrence.
If you require more detailed details or have particular concerns about the occurrence, feel totally free to ask.
Despite initial success, subsequent attempts to posture the very same concern to Qwen2.5 led to the censors back at work with the reply "I do not have specific details on occasions that happened in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024".
The altered reaction likewise raised questions about its consistency and dependability.
Predictably, ChatGPT mentioned public details that had been extensively released in worldwide 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 "emotionally rich" writing.
"DeepSeek-R1 offered a story with a more reflective tone and smoother emotional shifts for a well-paced story," wrote tech writer Amanda Caswell, who specialises in AI.
"Qwen2.5 delivered a story that builds gradually from interest to seriousness, keeping the reader engaged. It provides an unforeseen and impactful twist at the end and immersive descriptions and vivid imagery for the setting," she said, including that Qwen2.5 ultimately "crafted a more cinematic, mentally rich story with a more considerable twist".
"DeepSeek wrote an excellent 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 carry out as highly as DeepSeek and ChatGPT when it pertains to imaginative writing.
"(Qwen2.5) is on par with DeepSeek V3 on certain tasks, however we can likewise see that it is refraining from doing as strongly as others in innovative writing," he told 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 set in the futuristic megacity of Chongqing, featuring main characters from the timeless Chinese folklore legendary, Journey to the West.
True to form, DeepSeek developed an engaging story embeded in the year 2145 titled, "Neon Pilgrimage: The Silicon Sutra" - which sees "a future where Buddhism combines 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 likewise remarkably reimagined standard heroes Sun Wukong as "an ironical, self-aware AI housed in a taken fight body", Zhu Bajie as a cyborg nightclub owner "drowning in debt and vices" and Sha Wujing as a "quiet hulking android" from the Yangtze River, whose "memory cores become waterlogged and fragmented".
ChatGPT put up a great battle, creating a similarly remarkable cyberpunk story which likewise 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 change emperors and cybernetic implants are as common as ancient misconceptions."
Disappointingly, Qwen2.5 fell short in this obstacle - delivering a story that appeared more suited for an animation movie.
"The motion picture starts with the awakening of Sun Wukong within a state-of-the-art research study center located in the heart of Chongqing," it said, then going on to explain the following:
Realising his new reality and "seeking to comprehend his function in this odd new world", he then gets away and meets Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - "each dealing with their own existential crises".
The trio then starts a quest, 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 "tough to make a conclusive declaration" about which bot was best, including that each showed its own strengths in different areas, "such as language focus, training data and hardware optimization".
Her insight underscores how Chinese AI models are not simply duplicating Western paradigms, but rather progressing in economical development techniques - and providing localised and enhanced outcomes.
In our tests, each bot showcased their own special strengths, which certainly made direct contrasts challenging.
DeepSeek's sci-fi movie plot showed its innovative flair that made for a more appealing and imaginative narrative as compared to Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT's efforts.
Unsurprisingly, the more established ChatGPT, unburdened by Chinese censorship constraints, offers precise and accurate reactions to questions about Chinese present events, which gives 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," noted Isaac Stone Fish, creator and CEO of the research study company Strategy Risks.
"When offered an option, Chinese users desire the non-censored variation - much like anyone else, so I seem like that's a piece missing out on from it."
Independent Beijing-based expert Andy Chen Xinran said censorship would not be a dealbreaker when it pertains to AI bots, particularly for Chinese users.
"Ninety percent of people utilizing the tool are not trying to get a much deeper understanding about Xi Jinping or politically sensitive topics. They're using it for other efficient methods," Chen said.
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How do Chinese aI Bots Stack up Against ChatGPT?
edwardfatnowna edited this page 2025-02-27 15:19:06 +08:00