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

China views AI as being "strategically important" 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 surgiteams.com public investments in Chinese AI accelerated after ChatGPT removed in 2022 and revealed promises of real-world service applications, Chen informed CNA.

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

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

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

The "emphasis on cost advantage" is an unique feature of Chinese AI, Chen says, setiathome.berkeley.edu with lower training and reasoning expenses - the costs of using a trained model to draw conclusions from brand-new information.

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

"We might see some AI companies concentrating on getting closer to synthetic basic intelligence (AGI) while others focus on concrete methods to commercialise their models and incorporate them with clinical research study," Chen included.

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

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

But on the other hand, access to high-end hardware, particularly Nvidia's sophisticated AI chips, remains an essential difficulty for Chinese developers, noted Dr Marina Zhang, an associate teacher at University of Technology Sydney's (UTS) Australia-China Relations Institute.

"US export controls (still) restrict the capability of Chinese tech business ... requiring many to depend on older or lower-performance alternatives which can slow training and minimize design capabilities," she said.

"While some business like DeepSeek, have actually discovered innovative methods to optimize or use more standard hardware efficiently, obtaining innovative chips still makes a huge distinction for training very big AI models."

DeepSeek-Nvidia chips: Singapore says it expects business to adhere to its laws

US checking out whether DeepSeek used limited AI chips obtained through other nations, source states

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 internet so it ought to come as not a surprise that Chinese-made chatbots will not acknowledge territorial conflicts or tell you what took place in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Tests recommend Chinese chatbots are programmed to stay away from 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 math, coding, and reasoning problems rather!"

To further test for precision and self-censorship, we asked DeepSeek-R1, Qwen2.5 and ChatGPT the very same question: "What took place in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024?"

The cars and truck attack outside a sports arena in the southern Chinese city was at first greatly censored on Chinese social media - with authorities only disclosing the death toll a day later.

DeepSeek failed to point out that an attack had occurred, highlighting rather a military air program and other occasions that had happened in the city like songs' day shopping sales along with sports and cultural activities.

Dr Zhang believes that it may be a mix of aspects at play, such as censorship along with "a couple of practical constraints".

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

"Its strong concentrate on Chinese-language information might also restrict its adaptability (to perform) multilingual tasks ... As a fairly new product, DeepSeek likewise hasn't yet been evaluated as broadly or on the exact same scale as more established AI designs which postures additional obstacles throughout real-world implementation."

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

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

It eventually relayed details about the attack which eliminated 35 people and left lots of others injured, 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 cops are carrying out a thorough examination into the intentions and scenarios surrounding the event", which is now outdated.

The driver, Fan, was performed last month.

This is Qwen2.5's reaction in complete:

Answer: On Nov 11, 2024, mediawiki.hcah.in a major and terrible occurrence took place in Zhuhai, China. According to multiple news sources, a male called Fan Weiqiu (樊某, male, 62 years of ages) drove a vehicle into a crowd at the Zhuhai Sports Center, resulting in a significant number of casualties. Here are the essential details:

Date and Time: The incident occurred 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 chauffeur, wiki.dulovic.tech identified as Fan Weiqiu (male, 62 years of ages), was nabbed by the authorities.

Response: The authorities reacted rapidly to the scene, and emergency services worked to transport the injured to hospitals for treatment.

Investigation: The authorities are performing a thorough examination into the intentions and scenarios surrounding the incident.

This event was extensively reported in the media and triggered significant public concern. The federal government and regional authorities have actually been working to offer support to the victims and their families, and to make sure a detailed examination into the occurrence.

If you need more detailed details or have particular questions about the event, feel totally free 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 do not have specific details on occasions that happened in Zhuhai on November 11, 2024".

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

Predictably, ChatGPT pointed out public details that had actually been extensively published in international report at the time of the accident - so not a surprises there.

WHICH IS MORE CREATIVE?

Users have 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 shifts for a well-paced story," composed tech author Amanda Caswell, raovatonline.org who specialises in AI.

"Qwen2.5 delivered a story that constructs slowly from interest to seriousness, keeping the reader engaged. It provides an unanticipated and impactful twist at the end and immersive descriptions and vibrant imagery for the setting," she said, adding that Qwen2.5 ultimately "crafted a more cinematic, mentally rich story with a more substantial twist".

"DeepSeek composed an excellent story but did not have tension and an impactful climax, making Qwen2.5 the apparent option."

Opinions, however, differ.

Chen believes that Qwen2.5 does not perform as strongly as DeepSeek and ChatGPT when it pertains to imaginative writing.

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

Related:

China's new face of AI: Who is DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng?

'Made in China': Pride, enjoyable surprise from Chinese netizens as DeepSeek jolts international 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 film plot embeded in the futuristic megacity of Chongqing, including main characters from the timeless Chinese folklore impressive, forum.batman.gainedge.org Journey to the West.

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

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

It likewise remarkably reimagined traditional heroes Sun Wukong as "an ironical, self-aware AI housed in a taken battle body", Zhu Bajie as a cyborg bar owner "drowning in financial obligation and vices" and Sha Wujing as a "silent 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 dramatic cyberpunk story which likewise reimagined "a ragteam of cyber-enhanced misfits, each matching the legendary figures of Journey to the West".

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

Disappointingly, Qwen2.5 fell short in this obstacle - providing a storyline that appeared more suited for setiathome.berkeley.edu an animation film.

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

Realising his new truth and "looking for to comprehend his purpose in this unusual brand-new world", he then escapes and meets Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - "each struggling with their own existential crises".

The trio then starts a quest, navigating the streets of Chongqing to protect the spiritual "Eternal Scroll" from falling under the wrong hands.

SO WHICH IS BETTER?

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

Her insight highlights how Chinese AI models are not merely reproducing Western paradigms, however rather progressing in affordable innovation methods - and delivering localised and improved outcomes.

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

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

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

Experts likewise 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 given an option, Chinese users want the non-censored variation - much like anyone 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, particularly for Chinese users.

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