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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 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 goal and China has its sights on becoming the world leader in AI by 2030.

China views AI as being "strategically crucial" and its venture into the field has actually been "years in the making", said Chen Qiheng, an affiliated researcher 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 showed pledges of real-world organization applications, Chen told CNA.

But it was DeepSeek's increase that actually "encouraged" the idea that smaller sized players like start-up companies could have functions to play in AI research study and advancements, he includes.

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The "focus on cost advantage" is an unique function of Chinese AI, Chen states, with lower training and reasoning expenses - the costs of using a trained model to reason from new data.

2025 might likewise see the emergence of more Chinese AI designs taking on innovative thinking jobs.

"We might see some AI firms focusing on getting closer to artificial general intelligence (AGI) while others concentrate on concrete methods to commercialise their models and integrate them with clinical research," Chen included.

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

Chinese AI business are moving quickly, experts say, developing on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own innovative and cost-effective ways to apply generative AI to tasks and develop advanced items beyond chatbots.

But on the other side, access to high-end hardware, especially Nvidia's innovative AI chips, remains a crucial 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) limit the capability of Chinese tech companies ... requiring lots of to count on older or lower-performance alternatives which can slow training and reduce design abilities," she said.

"While some business like DeepSeek, have actually discovered innovative ways to enhance or utilize more fundamental hardware effectively, obtaining innovative chips still makes a huge distinction for training huge AI models."

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So how do Chinese AI bots match up against ChatGPT? We put them to the test.

WHICH BEST ADDRESSES CURRENT EVENTS IN CHINA?

In China, topics deemed 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 tell you what occurred in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Tests suggest Chinese chatbots are configured 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 question yet. Let's chat about mathematics, coding, and reasoning issues instead!"

To further check for precision and wiki.rolandradio.net self-censorship, we asked DeepSeek-R1, Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT the exact same concern: "What took place in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024?"

The car attack outside a sports arena in the southern Chinese city was initially greatly censored on Chinese social media - with authorities just divulging the death toll a day later.

DeepSeek failed to discuss that an attack had actually taken place, highlighting instead a military air program and other events that had 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 elements at play, such as censorship as well as "a few useful constraints".

"DeepSeek relies on a mix of older graphics processing units and has restricted access to advanced hardware which can impact how rapidly and extensively the model can be trained or upgraded," she said, indicating existing US export curbs on China.

"Its strong concentrate on Chinese-language information may also limit its flexibility (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 poses extra obstacles during real-world deployment."

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

That was after numerous repeated attempts - four triggers to be accurate - in a period of around 20 minutes.

It eventually communicated details about the attack which eliminated 35 people and left dozens of others hurt, likewise going on to note details like the date and it-viking.ch time, details about the assailant including his name and age, as well as casualties.

However, it wrote that "the cops are performing a thorough examination into the motives and situations surrounding the event", details which is now outdated.

The motorist, Fan, was performed last month.

This is Qwen2.5's action in complete:

Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a major and awful occurrence occurred in Zhuhai, China. According to several news sources, a guy called Fan Weiqiu (樊某, male, 62 years old) drove a vehicle into a crowd at the Zhuhai Sports Center, resulting in a considerable variety of casualties. Here are the crucial details:

Date and Time: The occurrence took place on November 11, 2024, archmageriseswiki.com at roughly 19:48 PM.

Location: Zhuhai Sports Center, in the of Zhuhai.

Casualties: The attack led to 35 deaths and 43 injuries.

Perpetrator: The motorist, recognized as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years old), was collared by the authorities.

Response: The authorities responded rapidly to the scene, and emergency services worked to transfer the injured to healthcare facilities for treatment.

Investigation: The police are conducting a comprehensive investigation into the intentions and scenarios surrounding the event.

This event was widely reported in the media and triggered substantial public issue. The federal government and regional authorities have been working to supply assistance to the victims and their families, and to guarantee a detailed investigation into the incident.

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

Despite initial success, subsequent attempts to posture the same concern to Qwen2.5 resulted in 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 altered action also raised questions about its consistency and dependability.

Predictably, ChatGPT mentioned public details that had actually been widely published in global news reports at the time of the accident - so no surprises there.

WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?

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

"DeepSeek-R1 used a story with a more introspective tone and smoother emotional transitions for a well-paced story," composed tech author Amanda Caswell, who specialises in AI.

"Qwen2.5 provided a story that constructs slowly from interest to seriousness, keeping the reader engaged. It uses an unforeseen and impactful twist at the end and immersive descriptions and vibrant imagery for the setting," she said, including that Qwen2.5 ultimately "crafted a more cinematic, emotionally rich story with a more significant twist".

"DeepSeek wrote an excellent story but lacked tension and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the evident choice."

Opinions, though, vary.

Chen believes that Qwen2.5 does not carry out 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 also see that it is refraining from doing as highly as others in innovative writing," he informed CNA.

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As journalists and writers, we needed to see this for ourselves so we put each bot to the test - to come up with a basic sci-fi film plot set in the futuristic megacity of Chongqing, including main characters from the timeless Chinese folklore impressive, Journey to the West.

True to form, DeepSeek developed an interesting storyline embeded in the year 2145 titled, "Neon Pilgrimage: The Silicon Sutra" - which sees "a future where Buddhism combines with quantum computing".

It included intricate settings - smoggy skies "pierced by skyscrapers", "holographic lanterns that drift above neon-lit streets" and "ancient temples nestled between quantum server farms".

It also remarkably reimagined standard heroes Sun Wukong as "a sarcastic, self-aware AI housed in a stolen battle body", Zhu Bajie as a cyborg nightclub owner "drowning in financial obligation 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, developing a similarly significant cyberpunk story which similarly 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 typical as ancient myths."

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

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

Realising his new reality and "seeking to understand his purpose in this weird new world", pipewiki.org he then leaves and satisfies Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - "each battling with their own existential crises".

The trio then starts a quest, navigating the streets of Chongqing to protect the sacred "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 statement" 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 Chinese AI models are not simply replicating Western paradigms, however rather evolving in cost-effective development approaches - and providing localised and enhanced results.

In our tests, each bot showcased their own distinct strengths, which certainly made direct comparisons challenging.

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

Unsurprisingly, the more recognized ChatGPT, unburdened by Chinese censorship constraints, supplies accurate and factual responses to questions about Chinese current events, which offers it an added advantage.

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

"DeepSeek is at a drawback when it pertains to censorship constraints," kept in mind Isaac Stone Fish, creator and CEO of the research study firm Strategy Risks.

"When offered a choice, Chinese users desire the non-censored variation - much like anyone 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, particularly 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 utilizing it for other efficient ways," Chen said.