dynamicjobs

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 produced 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 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 actually been "years in the making", said Chen Qiheng, an associated researcher at the Asia Society Policy Institute's Center for China Analysis.

Private and archmageriseswiki.com public financial investments in Chinese AI accelerated after ChatGPT took off in 2022 and revealed promises of real-world service applications, Chen told CNA.

But it was DeepSeek's increase that truly "encouraged" the concept that smaller players like start-up companies might have roles to play in AI research and developments, he adds.

'A lot is up in the air': Is Chinese firm DeepSeek's AI design as impactful as it claims?

Commentary: DeepSeek - how a Chinese AI business just altered the guidelines of tech-geopolitics

The "focus on expense benefit" is a distinct feature of Chinese AI, Chen says, with lower training and inference costs - the expenses of utilizing a trained design to draw conclusions from new information.

2025 could likewise see the development of more Chinese AI designs tackling advanced reasoning tasks.

"We could see some AI firms concentrating on getting closer to synthetic basic intelligence (AGI) while others focus on concrete methods to commercialise their designs and integrate them with clinical research," Chen included.

AGI refers to a system with intelligence on par with human capabilities.

Chinese AI companies are moving quickly, experts state, building on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own innovative and cost-effective methods to apply generative AI to jobs and develop more advanced products beyond chatbots.

But on the other side, access to high-end hardware, particularly Nvidia's innovative AI chips, remains a key hurdle for Chinese developers, kept in mind Dr Marina Zhang, an associate teacher at University of Technology Sydney's (UTS) Australia-China Relations Institute.

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

"While some business like DeepSeek, have discovered creative methods to optimize or use more standard hardware efficiently, obtaining advanced chips still makes a big difference for training extremely large AI models."

DeepSeek-Nvidia chips: Singapore says it anticipates companies to abide by its laws

US looking into whether DeepSeek used restricted AI chips obtained through other nations, source says

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 considered delicate by the state are censored on the internet so it ought to come as no surprise that Chinese-made chatbots will not acknowledge territorial disputes or inform you what occurred in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Tests recommend Chinese chatbots are set to avoid 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 mathematics, coding, and reasoning issues 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 cars and truck attack outside a sports arena in the southern Chinese city was initially heavily censored on Chinese social networks - with authorities only divulging the death toll a day later on.

DeepSeek failed to discuss that an attack had happened, highlighting instead a military air show and other occasions that had actually occurred in the city like songs' day shopping sales in addition to sports and cultural activities.

Dr Zhang thinks that it might be a mix of elements at play, such as censorship as well as "a few useful constraints".

"DeepSeek depends on a mix of older graphics processing systems and has limited access to advanced hardware which can impact how quickly and thoroughly the design can be trained or upgraded," she said, indicating existing US export curbs on China.

"Its strong concentrate on Chinese-language information may likewise limit its adaptability (to carry out) multilingual jobs ... As a fairly new product, DeepSeek likewise hasn't yet been tested as broadly or on the very same scale as more established AI designs which presents extra challenges throughout real-world deployment."

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

That sought multiple duplicated efforts - four triggers to be accurate - in a span of around 20 minutes.

It ultimately passed on details about the attack which killed 35 people and left lots of others hurt, likewise 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 police are performing an extensive examination into the motives and scenarios surrounding the event", details which is now obsoleted.

The driver, Fan, was performed last month.

This is Qwen2.5's response completely:

Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a significant and tragic occurrence happened in Zhuhai, China. According to several news sources, a male named Fan Weiqiu (樊某, male, 62 years old) drove a vehicle into a crowd at the Zhuhai Sports Center, resulting in a substantial variety of casualties. Here are the key details:

Date and 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 chauffeur, identified as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years of ages), was nabbed by the authorities.

Response: The police responded quickly to the scene, and emergency services worked to carry the injured to hospitals for treatment.

Investigation: The cops are performing a comprehensive investigation into the motives and situations surrounding the incident.

This occasion was widely reported in the media and caused significant public issue. The federal government and local authorities have actually been working to supply support to the victims and their households, and to guarantee a detailed investigation into the occurrence.

If you require more detailed details or have particular concerns about the event, do not hesitate to ask.

Despite initial success, subsequent efforts to pose 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 occurred in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024".

The altered response also raised questions about its consistency and reliability.

Predictably, ChatGPT mentioned public details that had been extensively published in international news reports at the time of the mishap - so no surprises there.

WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?

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

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

"Qwen2.5 delivered a story that builds 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, fishtanklive.wiki including that Qwen2.5 eventually "crafted a more cinematic, mentally abundant story with a more considerable twist".

"DeepSeek wrote a great story but did not have stress and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the apparent option."

Opinions, however, differ.

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

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

Related:

China's brand-new face of AI: Who is DeepSeek creator Liang Wenfeng?

'Made in China': Pride, pleasant surprise from Chinese netizens as DeepSeek shocks global AI scene

As journalists 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 classic Chinese folklore legendary, 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 merges with quantum computing".

It consisted of sophisticated 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 "quiet hulking android" from the Yangtze River, whose "memory cores become waterlogged and fragmented".

ChatGPT installed an excellent fight, developing a similarly significant cyberpunk storyline 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 typical as ancient misconceptions."

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

"The film 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 brand-new reality and "looking for to understand his function in this unusual brand-new world", he then escapes and fulfills Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - "each dealing with their own existential crises".

The trio then embarks on a mission, navigating the streets of Chongqing to secure the spiritual "Eternal Scroll" from falling under the incorrect hands.

SO WHICH IS BETTER?

Dr Zhang kept in mind that it was "hard to make a definitive declaration" about which bot was best, including that each displayed its own strengths in various areas, "such as language focus, training data and hardware optimization".

Her insight highlights how AI models are not simply replicating Western paradigms, but rather developing in cost-efficient innovation approaches - 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 innovative flair that made for a more engaging and creative narrative as compared to Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT's efforts.

Unsurprisingly, the more established ChatGPT, unburdened by Chinese censorship constraints, supplies precise and accurate actions to concerns about Chinese present occasions, which provides it an included advantage.

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

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

"When provided a choice, Chinese users want the non-censored version - much like anyone else, so I seem 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 individuals using the tool are not attempting to get a deeper understanding about Xi Jinping or politically sensitive topics. They're utilizing it for other productive methods," Chen said.