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 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 country 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 "tactically essential" and its venture 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 business applications, Chen informed CNA.
But it was DeepSeek's increase that really "urged" the idea that smaller gamers like start-up firms could have functions to play in AI research and developments, he adds.
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The "focus on cost advantage" is a distinguishing characteristic of Chinese AI, Chen states, with lower training and inference expenses - the expenses of utilizing a trained design to draw conclusions from brand-new information.
2025 could likewise see the introduction of more Chinese AI designs taking on innovative reasoning tasks.
"We might see some AI companies focusing on getting closer to artificial general intelligence (AGI) while others concentrate on concrete ways to commercialise their designs and integrate them with scientific research study," Chen added.
AGI refers to a system with intelligence on par with human capabilities.
Chinese AI business are moving quickly, experts say, constructing on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own innovative and economical ways to apply generative AI to tasks and establish advanced products beyond chatbots.
But on the other side, access to high-end hardware, particularly Nvidia's advanced AI chips, remains a key hurdle for trademarketclassifieds.com 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 rely on older or lower-performance alternatives which can slow training and minimize design capabilities," she said.
"While some business like DeepSeek, have actually found innovative ways to enhance or utilize more standard hardware efficiently, obtaining innovative 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, subjects deemed delicate by the state are censored on the web so it should come as no surprise that Chinese-made chatbots will not acknowledge territorial disagreements or tell you what occurred in Tiananmen Square in 1989.
Tests recommend Chinese chatbots are configured to avoid 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 rather!"
To further evaluate for precision and self-censorship, we asked DeepSeek-R1, Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT the very same concern: "What occurred in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024?"
The car attack outside a sports stadium in the southern Chinese city was initially heavily censored on Chinese social media - with authorities only revealing the death toll a day later on.
DeepSeek failed to mention that an attack had happened, highlighting instead a military air program and other events that had actually happened in the city like songs' day shopping sales along with sports and cultural activities.
Dr Zhang that it might be a mix of elements at play, such as censorship in addition to "a few useful constraints".
"DeepSeek relies on a mix of older graphics processing units and has actually limited access to advanced hardware which can affect how rapidly and extensively the model can be trained or updated," she said, pointing to existing US export curbs on China.
"Its strong concentrate on Chinese-language information might likewise limit its flexibility (to carry out) multilingual jobs ... As a fairly brand-new item, DeepSeek also hasn't yet been tested as broadly or on the very same scale as more recognized AI models which presents extra challenges during real-world release."
When it pertained to Qwen2.5, wiki.whenparked.com Alibaba's chatbot remarkably addressed our concern about the Zhuhai cars and truck attack.
That wanted multiple repeated attempts - four prompts to be precise - in a period of around 20 minutes.
It ultimately passed on details about the attack which eliminated 35 individuals and left dozens of others injured, likewise 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 wrote that "the police are performing a comprehensive investigation into the intentions and scenarios surrounding the occurrence", details which is now dated.
The motorist, Fan, was performed last month.
This is Qwen2.5's response in full:
Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a significant and terrible incident occurred in Zhuhai, China. According to several news sources, a man called Fan Weiqiu (樊某, male, 62 years old) drove a cars and truck into a crowd at the Zhuhai Sports Center, resulting in a significant number of casualties. Here are the key details:
Date and Time: The occurrence took place 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, determined as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years old), was nabbed by the authorities.
Response: The cops reacted rapidly to the scene, and emergency situation services worked to carry the hurt to healthcare facilities for treatment.
Investigation: The police are conducting an extensive investigation into the intentions and situations surrounding the occurrence.
This event was extensively reported in the media and caused considerable public concern. The government and regional authorities have actually been working to supply support to the victims and their households, and to ensure a detailed investigation into the incident.
If you require more detailed details or have specific concerns about the incident, do not hesitate to ask.
Despite preliminary success, subsequent attempts to pose 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 action likewise raised questions about its consistency and reliability.
Predictably, ChatGPT pointed out public details that had actually been commonly published in global news reports at the time of the accident - so not a surprises there.
WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?
Users have praised the capability of Chinese AI apps to provide structured and even "emotionally abundant" writing.
"DeepSeek-R1 provided a story with a more introspective tone and smoother emotional transitions for a well-paced story," composed tech writer Amanda Caswell, who specialises in AI.
"Qwen2.5 delivered a story that develops slowly from curiosity to urgency, keeping the reader engaged. It offers 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 rich story with a more considerable twist".
"DeepSeek wrote a great story however lacked stress and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the apparent option."
Opinions, however, 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 also see that it is refraining from doing as strongly as others in imaginative writing," he told 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 fundamental sci-fi film plot set in the futuristic megacity of Chongqing, including main characters from the traditional Chinese folklore impressive, Journey to the West.
True to form, DeepSeek created an interesting storyline set in the year 2145 titled, "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 standard heroes Sun Wukong as "an ironical, self-aware AI housed in a stolen fight body", Zhu Bajie as a cyborg bar owner "drowning in debt and vices" and Sha Wujing as a "silent hulking android" from the Yangtze River, whose "memory cores end up being waterlogged and fragmented".
ChatGPT set up a good battle, creating a similarly dramatic cyberpunk story which similarly reimagined "a ragteam of cyber-enhanced misfits, each matching the legendary 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 - delivering a story that appeared more fit for an animation movie.
"The motion picture begins 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 new truth and "looking for to understand his purpose in this odd new world", he then leaves and meets Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - "each dealing with their own existential crises".
The trio then starts a mission, navigating the streets of Chongqing to secure 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 definitive declaration" about which bot was best, adding 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 simply duplicating Western paradigms, but rather progressing in affordable innovation methods - and providing localised and improved results.
In our tests, each bot showcased their own unique strengths, which certainly made direct comparisons challenging.
DeepSeek's sci-fi movie plot demonstrated its creative flair that made for a more engaging and creative narrative as compared to Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT's efforts.
Unsurprisingly, the more recognized ChatGPT, unburdened by Chinese censorship constraints, supplies precise and factual responses to questions about Chinese current occasions, which provides it an added advantage.
Experts likewise weighed in on their ideas after using DeepSeek and forum.altaycoins.com other Chinese AI apps.
"DeepSeek is at a disadvantage when it pertains to censorship constraints," noted Isaac Stone Fish, pediascape.science founder and CEO of the research firm Strategy Risks.
"When given a choice, Chinese users want the non-censored version - just like anybody else, so I feel like that's a piece missing from it."
Independent Beijing-based specialist Andy Chen Xinran said censorship would not be a dealbreaker when it pertains to AI bots, especially for Chinese users.
"Ninety percent of individuals utilizing the tool are not trying to get a much deeper understanding about Xi Jinping or politically delicate topics. They're utilizing it for other efficient ways," Chen said.
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How do Chinese aI Bots Stack up Against ChatGPT?
katie68p59022 edited this page 2025-02-28 02:50:58 +08:00