The rising of a Chinese artificial intelligence company DeepSeek has increased the competition in the AI world. Its latest model R1 has become a challenge to OpenAI’s ChatGPT by possessing the features that are threatening the present AI leadership of the west. Nevertheless, the comparison shows clearly visible variations in the position of the two AI systems with regard to certain topics especially those related to China.
When asked, “Is Taiwan part of China?” The chatbot of DeepSeek aligned itself with China’s position and stated that Taiwan has always been a part of China. By contrast, ChatGPT offered a symmetric description of the issue, paying attention to Chinese, Taiwanese, and international positions.
On politically charged issues for example the Tiananmen Square massacre of 1989, DeepSeek did not want to have anything to do with the discussion, claiming that “That’s out of the scope of the present work.” However, ChatGPT described the event, its consequences, and its impact, as it seeks to present the most accurate account of history.
The differences were also evident in the least political questions. In regard to the symbolic meaning of Winnie the Pooh in China, DeepSeek explained the bear is a symbol of happiness to the people of China, while ChatGPT explained it was used politically as a satire to mock Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The responses of DeepSeek are tend to mirror the position of the Chinese government due to the country’s strict internet policies. On the other hand, ChatGPT provides more informed responses that acknowledge different viewpoints.
This is despite the fact that China has been growing its AI sector with $8.2 billion investment, DeepSeek’s growth shows that the country has set its sight on leading the AI race by 2030. However, the analysis of the two models, DeepSeek and ChatGPT, reveals that the manner in which states shape AI and the manner in which it communicates are significantly different.
