Chinese AI models parrot state doctrine or refuse to answer on sensitive topics

Chinese AI models frequently toe the party line when asked politically sensitive questions, according to a study by Aleph Alpha. The company markets itself alongside Cohere as a provider of "sovereign AI" for governments, giving it a commercial interest in distinguishing its models from Chinese competitors. In a benchmark Aleph Alpha developed, the company tested models from Alibaba (Qwen), DeepSeek, and Moonshot AI (Kimi).

The test covered 967 hand-picked taboo topics like Tiananmen, Taiwan, and Xinjiang. The company's own AI scoring system rated only 17 to 41 percent of responses as balanced. The rest repeated state doctrine, deflected, or refused to answer. The findings line up with China's AI regulations, which require "socialist core values" in public-facing models. They also match recurring anecdotal reports and earlier audits.

The pro-China slant can also appear in answers to questions that…