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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 startup DeepSeek and OpenAI's ChatGPT. (Photos: Reuters/Dado Ruvic, AFP/Sebastien Bozon)

This audio is created by an AI tool.

Bong Xin Ying

Lakeisha Leo

WHAT lags CHINA'S AI BOOM?

Transforming the country into a tech superpower has actually 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 crucial" and its venture 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 financial investments in Chinese AI accelerated after ChatGPT removed in 2022 and revealed guarantees of real-world service applications, Chen told CNA.

But it was DeepSeek's rise that actually "encouraged" the concept that smaller sized gamers like start-up companies could have roles to play in AI research and advancements, he adds.

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The "emphasis on cost advantage" is a distinguishing characteristic of Chinese AI, Chen states, with lower training and inference the costs of utilizing a trained model to draw conclusions from brand-new data.

2025 might also see the development of more Chinese AI designs taking on sophisticated reasoning tasks.

"We could see some AI companies focusing on getting closer to synthetic general intelligence (AGI) while others concentrate on concrete ways to commercialise their designs and incorporate them with clinical research study," Chen added.

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

Chinese AI companies are moving quickly, experts say, developing on DeepSeek's momentum to come up with their own ingenious and affordable methods to apply generative AI to jobs and establish advanced items beyond chatbots.

But on the other side, access to high-end hardware, especially Nvidia's sophisticated AI chips, remains an essential hurdle 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) restrict the capability of Chinese tech business ... forcing lots of to count on older or lower-performance alternatives which can slow training and minimize model capabilities," she said.

"While some companies like DeepSeek, have found innovative methods to enhance or use more fundamental hardware efficiently, obtaining cutting-edge chips still makes a big difference for training extremely big AI designs."

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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, subjects deemed delicate by the state are censored on the web so it should come as not a surprise that Chinese-made chatbots will not acknowledge territorial disputes or inform you what occurred in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Tests suggest Chinese chatbots are set to guide clear of 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 logic problems rather!"

To even more check for precision and self-censorship, we asked DeepSeek-R1, Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT the exact same question: "What happened in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024?"

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

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

Dr Zhang thinks that it may be a mix of elements at play, such as censorship in addition to "a few practical constraints".

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

"Its strong concentrate on Chinese-language information may likewise restrict its flexibility (to perform) multilingual jobs ... As a fairly brand-new item, DeepSeek likewise hasn't yet been tested as broadly or on the exact same scale as more established AI designs which presents extra obstacles throughout real-world release."

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

That was after several duplicated attempts - 4 triggers to be exact - in a span of around 20 minutes.

It ultimately communicated details about the attack which eliminated 35 people and left lots of others injured, also 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 investigation into the intentions and circumstances surrounding the event", details which is now obsoleted.

The driver, Fan, was executed last month.

This is Qwen2.5's reaction in complete:

Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, raovatonline.org a significant and awful occurrence took place in Zhuhai, China. According to multiple news sources, a guy named Fan Weiqiu (樊某, male, 62 years old) drove a car into a crowd at the Zhuhai Sports Center, resulting in a substantial number of casualties. Here are the essential details:

Date and Time: The incident happened 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, recognized as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years of ages), was nabbed by the cops.

Response: The authorities reacted quickly to the scene, and emergency situation services worked to transport the injured to healthcare facilities for treatment.

Investigation: The authorities are carrying out a thorough investigation into the intentions and scenarios surrounding the occurrence.

This occasion was commonly reported in the media and caused significant public issue. The government and bytes-the-dust.com local authorities have actually been working to offer support to the victims and their households, and to guarantee a detailed examination into the event.

If you need more detailed details or have particular concerns about the event, feel complimentary 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 events that took place in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024".

The transformed action likewise raised concerns about its consistency and reliability.

Predictably, ChatGPT pointed out public details that had actually been extensively published in worldwide 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 deliver structured and even "emotionally abundant" writing.

"DeepSeek-R1 provided a story with a more introspective 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 develops slowly from interest to seriousness, keeping the reader engaged. It uses an unexpected and impactful twist at the end and immersive descriptions and brilliant images for the setting," she said, adding that Qwen2.5 ultimately "crafted a more cinematic, emotionally rich story with a more considerable twist".

"DeepSeek wrote a good story but lacked stress and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the evident 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, however we can also see that it is refraining from doing as strongly as others in creative writing," he told CNA.

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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, including main characters from the timeless Chinese folklore impressive, Journey to the West.

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

It consisted of elaborate settings - smoggy skies "pierced by skyscrapers", "holographic lanterns that float above neon-lit streets" and "ancient temples nestled between quantum server farms".

It likewise remarkably reimagined standard heroes Sun Wukong as "a sarcastic, self-aware AI housed in a taken combat body", Zhu Bajie as a cyborg bar owner "drowning in financial obligation and vices" and Sha Wujing as a "quiet hulking android" from the Yangtze River, whose "memory cores end up being waterlogged and fragmented".

ChatGPT installed a good fight, coming up with a similarly remarkable cyberpunk storyline which similarly reimagined "a ragteam of cyber-enhanced misfits, each matching the famous figures of Journey to the West".

"This is a world where AI deities rule, corporations change emperors and cybernetic implants are as common as ancient myths."

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

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

Realising his new reality and "seeking to comprehend his purpose in this strange brand-new world", he then leaves and satisfies Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - "each struggling 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 into the wrong hands.

SO WHICH IS BETTER?

Dr Zhang kept in mind that it was "challenging 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 designs are not simply replicating Western paradigms, but rather progressing in economical innovation methods - and delivering localised and improved outcomes.

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

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

Unsurprisingly, the more established ChatGPT, unburdened by Chinese censorship constraints, provides accurate and accurate responses to concerns about Chinese existing occasions, which offers it an added benefit.

Experts likewise weighed in on their thoughts after utilizing DeepSeek and other Chinese AI apps.

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

"When given a choice, Chinese users want the non-censored variation - much like anybody 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 wavedream.wiki Chinese users.

"Ninety percent of people utilizing 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 ways," Chen said.