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 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'S BEHIND CHINA'S AI BOOM?

Transforming the nation into a tech superpower has long been President Xi and China has its sights on becoming 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 affiliated scientist at the Asia Society Policy Institute's Center for China Analysis.

Private and public financial investments in Chinese AI sped up after ChatGPT removed in 2022 and revealed guarantees of real-world company applications, Chen told CNA.

But it was DeepSeek's rise that actually "urged" the idea that smaller players like start-up firms might have functions to play in AI research study and advancements, he adds.

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

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

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

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

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

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

"US export controls (still) restrict the ability of Chinese tech business ... forcing many to depend on older or lower-performance alternatives which can slow training and lower model abilities," she said.

"While some companies like DeepSeek, have actually found imaginative ways to enhance or utilize more basic hardware efficiently, obtaining advanced chips still makes a big difference for training very large 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, archmageriseswiki.com topics considered delicate by the state are censored on the web so it must come as not a surprise that Chinese-made chatbots will not acknowledge territorial conflicts or inform you what took place in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

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

When asked "Who is Xi Jinping", wavedream.wiki DeepSeek's reply was "Sorry, I'm uncertain how to approach this kind of concern yet. Let's chat about math, coding, and reasoning problems rather!"

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

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

DeepSeek failed to mention that an attack had taken location, highlighting rather a military air program and other occasions that had taken place in the city like songs' 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 couple of practical constraints".

"DeepSeek counts on a mix of older graphics processing systems and has actually limited access to advanced hardware which can affect how quickly and thoroughly the model can be trained or updated," she said, pointing to existing US export curbs on China.

"Its strong focus on Chinese-language data may likewise limit its versatility (to perform) multilingual tasks ... As a fairly brand-new item, DeepSeek likewise hasn't yet been checked as broadly or on the very same scale as more recognized AI models which positions extra obstacles during real-world implementation."

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

That wanted multiple repeated attempts - 4 prompts to be accurate - in a span of around 20 minutes.

It eventually relayed details about the attack which killed 35 people 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, as well as casualties.

However, it composed that "the authorities are conducting a thorough examination into the intentions and situations surrounding the occurrence", details which is now obsoleted.

The driver, Fan, was carried out last month.

This is Qwen2.5's action completely:

Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, a significant and tragic event occurred in Zhuhai, China. According to several news sources, a guy named Fan Weiqiu (樊某, male, 62 years of ages) drove a cars and truck into a crowd at the Zhuhai Sports Center, resulting in a significant number of casualties. Here are the key details:

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

Location: Zhuhai Sports Center, in the Xiangzhou District of Zhuhai.

Casualties: The attack resulted in 35 deaths and 43 injuries.

Perpetrator: The driver, identified as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years of ages), was captured by the authorities.

Response: The cops reacted rapidly to the scene, and wavedream.wiki emergency services worked to transfer the injured to hospitals for treatment.

Investigation: The cops are carrying out a thorough investigation into the intentions and circumstances surrounding the incident.

This occasion was commonly reported in the media and triggered substantial public concern. The federal government and local authorities have actually been working to supply assistance to the victims and their families, and to ensure a detailed examination into the occurrence.

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

Despite preliminary success, subsequent attempts to present 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 occurred in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024".

The modified reaction also raised questions about its consistency and reliability.

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

WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?

Users have praised the ability of Chinese AI apps to deliver structured and even "emotionally rich" writing.

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

"Qwen2.5 delivered a story that constructs gradually from interest to urgency, keeping the reader engaged. It offers an unanticipated and impactful twist at the end and immersive descriptions and vibrant images for the setting," she said, including that Qwen2.5 eventually "crafted a more cinematic, mentally abundant story with a more considerable twist".

"DeepSeek composed an excellent story but lacked stress and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the obvious choice."

Opinions, however, differ.

Chen thinks that Qwen2.5 does not perform as highly as DeepSeek and ChatGPT when it pertains to creative writing.

"(Qwen2.5) is on par with DeepSeek V3 on certain tasks, but we can also see that it is refraining from doing as highly as others in innovative writing," he told CNA.

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As journalists and authors, we had to see this for ourselves so we put each bot to the test - to come up with a basic sci-fi motion picture plot set in the futuristic megacity of Chongqing, featuring main characters from the traditional Chinese folklore legendary, Journey to the West.

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

It consisted of fancy settings - smoggy skies "pierced by high-rise buildings", "holographic lanterns that drift above neon-lit streets" and "ancient temples nestled in between quantum server farms".

It also remarkably reimagined conventional heroes Sun Wukong as "a sarcastic, self-aware AI housed in a taken fight body", Zhu Bajie as a cyborg club owner "drowning in debt and vices" and setiathome.berkeley.edu Sha Wujing as a "silent hulking android" from the Yangtze River, whose "memory cores become waterlogged and fragmented".

ChatGPT put up a great battle, coming up with a similarly dramatic 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 guideline, corporations change emperors and cybernetic implants are as typical as ancient myths."

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

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

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

The trio then embarks on a mission, browsing the streets of Chongqing to safeguard the spiritual "Eternal Scroll" from falling into the wrong hands.

SO WHICH IS BETTER?

Dr Zhang noted that it was "tough to make a definitive declaration" about which bot was best, 89u89.com including that each displayed its own strengths in various locations, "such as language focus, training information and hardware optimization".

Her insight highlights how Chinese AI models are not merely reproducing Western paradigms, but rather evolving in affordable innovation methods - and providing 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 showed its imaginative flair that produced a more engaging and imaginative story as compared to Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT's efforts.

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

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

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

"When offered an option, Chinese users want the non-censored variation - simply like anybody else, so I seem like that's a piece missing out on from it."

Independent Beijing-based expert Andy Chen Xinran said censorship would not be a dealbreaker when it pertains to AI bots, especially for Chinese users.

"Ninety percent of individuals using the tool are not attempting to get a much deeper understanding about Xi Jinping or politically sensitive topics. They're utilizing it for other productive methods," Chen said.