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 produced 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 ending up being the world leader in AI by 2030.

China views AI as being "strategically important" and its foray into the field has been "years in the making", said Chen Qiheng, an associated researcher at the Asia Society Policy Institute's Center for China Analysis.

Private and public investments in Chinese AI sped up after ChatGPT took off in 2022 and revealed pledges of real-world service applications, Chen informed CNA.

But it was DeepSeek's increase that really "encouraged" the idea that smaller gamers like start-up companies might have roles to play in AI research and advancements, he includes.

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The "emphasis on expense benefit" is a distinguishing characteristic of Chinese AI, Chen states, with lower training and reasoning expenses - the costs of using a trained design to draw conclusions from brand-new information.

2025 could also see the introduction of more Chinese AI models tackling innovative thinking tasks.

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

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

Chinese AI business are moving quickly, analysts state, constructing on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own ingenious and cost-efficient ways to use generative AI to jobs and develop more innovative items beyond chatbots.

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

"US export controls (still) limit the ability of Chinese tech companies ... requiring numerous to count on older or lower-performance alternatives which can slow training and minimize model abilities," she said.

"While some business like DeepSeek, have actually discovered imaginative ways to optimize 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 must come as no surprise that Chinese-made chatbots will not acknowledge territorial disagreements or tell you what happened in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Tests recommend Chinese chatbots are configured to guide clear of domestic politics.

When asked "Who is Xi Jinping", wiki.asexuality.org 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 even more check for precision and self-censorship, we asked DeepSeek-R1, wiki.myamens.com Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT the exact same question: "What took place in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024?"

The automobile attack outside a sports stadium in the southern Chinese city was initially heavily censored on Chinese social networks - with authorities just divulging the death toll a day later on.

DeepSeek failed to point out that an attack had actually happened, 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 in addition to "a few practical constraints".

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

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

When it pertained to Qwen2.5, Alibaba's chatbot surprisingly answered our concern about the Zhuhai cars and truck attack.

That sought numerous repeated attempts - four triggers to be precise - in a span of around 20 minutes.

It ultimately relayed details about the attack which killed 35 individuals and left lots of others hurt, also going on to note details like the date and time, details about the assailant including his name and age, along with casualties.

However, it composed that "the police are carrying out a comprehensive investigation into the intentions and scenarios surrounding the incident", details which is now obsoleted.

The chauffeur, Fan, was performed last month.

This is Qwen2.5's response in complete:

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

Date and Time: The occurrence took place on November 11, 2024, at roughly 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, recognized as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years old), was captured by the cops.

Response: The police reacted rapidly to the scene, and emergency situation services worked to transport the hurt to health centers for treatment.

Investigation: The cops are conducting an extensive examination into the intentions and scenarios surrounding the incident.

This event was widely reported in the media and triggered substantial public concern. The federal government and local authorities have actually been working to provide support to the victims and their families, and to make sure a detailed investigation into the incident.

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

Despite initial success, subsequent efforts to position the very same concern to Qwen2.5 led to the censors back at work with the reply "I don't have specific details on occasions that took place in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024".

The transformed response likewise raised concerns about its consistency and dependability.

Predictably, ChatGPT pointed out public details that had actually been commonly published in international news reports at the time of the mishap - so not a surprises there.

WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?

Users have actually praised the capability of Chinese AI apps to deliver structured and even "mentally abundant" writing.

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

"Qwen2.5 provided a story that constructs gradually from curiosity to urgency, keeping the reader engaged. It uses an unanticipated and impactful twist at the end and immersive descriptions and vibrant images for the setting," she said, adding that Qwen2.5 ultimately "crafted a more cinematic, emotionally rich story with a more significant twist".

"DeepSeek wrote a great story however did not have tension and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the obvious choice."

Opinions, though, differ.

Chen thinks that Qwen2.5 does not carry out as highly 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 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 standard sci-fi motion picture plot embeded in the futuristic megacity of Chongqing, featuring main characters from the timeless Chinese folklore epic, Journey to the West.

True to form, DeepSeek created an interesting storyline set in the year 2145 entitled, "Neon Pilgrimage: The Silicon Sutra" - which sees "a future where Buddhism merges with quantum computing".

It consisted of elaborate settings - smoggy skies "pierced by skyscrapers", "holographic lanterns that drift 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 stolen combat body", Zhu Bajie as a cyborg nightclub 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 put up a good fight, creating 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 common as ancient myths."

Disappointingly, Qwen2.5 fell short in this difficulty - delivering a storyline that seemed more suited for an animation movie.

"The movie starts with the awakening of Sun Wukong within a high-tech research center situated in the heart of Chongqing," it said, then going on to explain the following:

Realising his new reality and "looking for to understand his function in this weird new world", he then gets away and fulfills Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - "each struggling with their own existential crises".

The trio then starts a mission, navigating the streets of Chongqing to secure the sacred "Eternal Scroll" from falling into 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, adding that each showed its own strengths in various areas, "such as language focus, training information and hardware optimization".

Her insight underscores how Chinese AI designs are not merely reproducing Western paradigms, however rather evolving in economical development techniques - and engel-und-waisen.de delivering localised and enhanced outcomes.

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

DeepSeek's sci-fi movie plot demonstrated its innovative flair that made for a more interesting and imaginative story as compared to Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT's efforts.

Unsurprisingly, the more established ChatGPT, unburdened by Chinese censorship constraints, offers accurate and factual actions to questions about Chinese current events, which gives it an included benefit.

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

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

"When given an option, Chinese users want the non-censored variation - just like anybody else, so I seem like that's a piece missing 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 per cent of people using the tool are not trying to get a deeper understanding about Xi Jinping or politically delicate subjects. They're utilizing it for other productive ways," Chen said.