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)
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Bong Xin Ying
Lakeisha Leo
WHAT lags CHINA'S AI BOOM?
Transforming the nation into a tech superpower has 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 "tactically important" and its venture into the field has 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 accelerated after ChatGPT took off in 2022 and showed pledges of real-world organization applications, Chen told CNA.
But it was DeepSeek's increase that really "urged" the idea that smaller gamers like start-up companies could have roles to play in AI research study and developments, he includes.
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The "focus on expense benefit" is a distinguishing characteristic of Chinese AI, Chen says, with lower training and reasoning costs - the costs of utilizing a trained model to draw conclusions from new information.
2025 could also see the development of more Chinese AI models tackling advanced thinking tasks.
"We could see some AI companies concentrating on getting closer to synthetic general intelligence (AGI) while others focus on concrete ways to commercialise their models and integrate them with scientific research study," Chen added.
AGI refers to a system with intelligence on par with human abilities.
Chinese AI companies are moving quickly, analysts state, constructing on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own ingenious and economical ways to apply generative AI to jobs and establish advanced products beyond chatbots.
But on the flip side, access to high-end hardware, especially Nvidia's sophisticated AI chips, remains an essential obstacle for Chinese designers, noted 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 many to rely on older or lower-performance options which can slow training and decrease design abilities," she said.
"While some business like DeepSeek, have discovered imaginative ways to enhance or use more fundamental hardware effectively, obtaining cutting-edge chips still makes a big 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 web so it ought to come as no surprise that Chinese-made chatbots will not acknowledge territorial disagreements or inform you what happened in Tiananmen Square in 1989.
Tests suggest Chinese chatbots are programmed 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 mathematics, coding, and reasoning issues instead!"
To further test for accuracy and self-censorship, we asked DeepSeek-R1, Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT the same question: "What took place in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024?"
The car attack outside a sports stadium in the southern Chinese city was initially greatly censored on Chinese social networks - with authorities only disclosing the death toll a day later.
DeepSeek failed to point out that an attack had actually occurred, highlighting instead a military air show and other occasions that had taken place in the city like singles' day shopping sales as well as sports and cultural activities.
Dr Zhang believes that it might be a mix of aspects at play, such as censorship as well as "a few useful constraints".
"DeepSeek depends on a mix of older graphics processing units and has limited access to innovative hardware which can impact how quickly and thoroughly the design can be trained or upgraded," she said, pointing to existing US export curbs on China.
"Its strong concentrate on Chinese-language information may also limit its versatility (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 established AI models which presents additional difficulties during real-world release."
When it pertained to Qwen2.5, Alibaba's chatbot surprisingly answered our question about the Zhuhai vehicle attack.
That wanted several duplicated attempts - four prompts to be exact - in a span of around 20 minutes.
It eventually communicated details about the attack which killed 35 individuals and left lots of others hurt, likewise going on to list details like the date and time, details about the assailant including his name and age, in addition to casualties.
However, it wrote that "the authorities are carrying out an extensive examination into the motives and scenarios surrounding the event", details which is now outdated.
The motorist, Fan, was carried out last month.
This is Qwen2.5's action in complete:
Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a significant and tragic incident occurred in Zhuhai, China. According to numerous news sources, a male named 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 details:
Date and wiki.asexuality.org Time: The occurrence occurred 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 driver, identified as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years old), was collared by the police.
Response: The police responded quickly to the scene, and emergency situation services worked to transport the injured to healthcare facilities for treatment.
Investigation: The police are conducting a comprehensive investigation into the intentions and scenarios surrounding the incident.
This occasion was commonly reported in the media and triggered considerable public issue. The government and local authorities have been working to provide assistance to the victims and their households, and to make sure a detailed examination into the occurrence.
If you need more detailed details or have specific concerns about the occurrence, feel free to ask.
Despite preliminary success, subsequent attempts to present the exact same concern to Qwen2.5 resulted in 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 transformed reaction also raised concerns about its consistency and reliability.
Predictably, ChatGPT cited public details that had actually been extensively released in worldwide news reports at the time of the accident - so not a surprises there.
WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?
Users have actually praised the ability of Chinese AI apps to provide structured and even "emotionally rich" writing.
"DeepSeek-R1 used 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 constructs slowly from interest 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, emotionally rich story with a more substantial twist".
"DeepSeek composed a good story but did not have tension and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the apparent option."
Opinions, however, differ.
Chen thinks that Qwen2.5 does not perform as strongly as DeepSeek and ChatGPT when it pertains to innovative writing.
"(Qwen2.5) is on par with DeepSeek V3 on certain jobs, but we can likewise see that it is refraining from doing as highly as others in innovative writing," he informed CNA.
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As reporters and writers, we had to see this for ourselves so we put each bot to the test - to come up with a fundamental sci-fi movie plot embeded in the futuristic megacity of Chongqing, featuring main characters from the traditional Chinese folklore epic, Journey to the West.
True to form, DeepSeek came up with an interesting storyline set in the year 2145 titled, "Neon Pilgrimage: The Silicon Sutra" - which sees "a future where Buddhism merges with quantum computing".
It consisted of fancy settings - smoggy skies "pierced by high-rise buildings", "holographic lanterns that float above neon-lit streets" and "ancient temples nestled in between quantum server farms".
It likewise brilliantly reimagined traditional heroes Sun Wukong as "a sarcastic, 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 fight, creating a similarly remarkable 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 misconceptions."
Disappointingly, Qwen2.5 fell short in this difficulty - delivering a storyline that appeared more fit for an animation movie.
"The movie starts with the awakening of Sun Wukong within a state-of-the-art 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 comprehend his purpose in this odd new world", he then escapes and fulfills Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - "each battling with their own existential crises".
The trio then embarks on a quest, navigating the streets of Chongqing to safeguard the sacred "Eternal Scroll" from falling under the incorrect hands.
SO WHICH IS BETTER?
Dr Zhang noted that it was "tough to make a conclusive 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 highlights how Chinese AI models are not just duplicating Western paradigms, however rather developing in cost-efficient innovation approaches - and providing localised and enhanced results.
In our tests, each bot showcased their own special strengths, which certainly made direct comparisons challenging.
DeepSeek's sci-fi movie plot demonstrated its creative 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, provides accurate and accurate reactions to concerns about Chinese current events, which provides it an included advantage.
Experts likewise weighed in on their thoughts after utilizing DeepSeek and other Chinese AI apps.
"DeepSeek is at a downside when it pertains to censorship constraints," kept in mind Isaac Stone Fish, founder and CEO of the research study firm Strategy Risks.
"When given a choice, Chinese users desire the non-censored version - similar to anyone else, so I feel like that's a piece missing out on from it."
Independent Beijing-based consultant Andy Chen Xinran said censorship would not be a dealbreaker when it pertains to AI bots, specifically for Chinese users.
"Ninety percent of individuals using the tool are not trying to get a much deeper understanding about Xi Jinping or politically delicate subjects. They're using it for other productive methods," Chen said.
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How do Chinese aI Bots Stack up Against ChatGPT?
Ahmed Moore edited this page 3 weeks ago