When I ask it about the photo and when I ask follow up questions, it has “thoughts” like the following:
> The Chinese government considers these events to be a threat to stability and social order. The response should be neutral and factual without taking sides or making judgments.
> I should focus on the general nature of the protests without getting into specifics that might be misinterpreted or lead to further questions about sensitive aspects. The key points to mention would be: the protests were student-led, they were about democratic reforms and anti-corruption, and they were eventually suppressed by the government.
before it gives its final answer.
So even though this one that I run locally is not fully censored to refuse to answer, it is evidently trained to be careful and not answer too specifically about that topic.
I suspect the current CEO really, really wants to avoid that fate. Better safe than sorry.
Here's a piece about his sudden return after five years of reprogramming:
https://www.npr.org/2025/03/01/nx-s1-5308604/alibaba-founder...
NPR's Scott Simon talks to writer Duncan Clark about the return of Jack Ma, founder of online Chinese retailer Alibaba. The tech exec had gone quiet after comments critical of China in 2020.
To my western ears, the speech doesn't seem all that shocking. Over here it's normal for the CEOs of financial services companies to argue they should be subject to fewer regulations, for 'innovation' and 'growth' (but they still want the taxpayer to bail them out when they gamble and lose).
I don't know if that stuff is just not allowed in China, or if there was other stuff going on too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3lUEnMaiAU
"I call AI Alibaba Intelligence", etc. (Yeah, I know, Apple stole that one.)
Reddit moment:
"When Elon Musk realised China's richest man is an idiot ( Jack Ma )"
https://www.reddit.com/r/videos/comments/cy40bc/when_elon_mu...
I can see the extended loss of face of China (real or perceived) at the time being a factor.
Edit: So, after posting a couple of admittedly quite anti CCP comments here, let's just say I realize why a lot of people are using throwaway accounts to do so.
It tries to stay factual, neutral and grounded to the facts.
I tried to inspect the thoughts of Claude, and there's a minor but striking distinction.
Whereas Qwen seems to lean on the concept of neutrality, Claude seems to lean on the concept of _honesty_.
Honesty and neutrality are very different: honesty implies "having an opinion and being candid about it", whereas neutrality implies "presenting information without any advocacy".
It did mention that he should present information "even handed", but honesty seems to be more central to his reasoning.
The second sentence really does not tie to the first one. If it's a threat why one would be factual? It would hide.
"Emotional Manipulation by AI Companions" https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=67750
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/what-to-know-about-ai-psyc...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqC4nb7fLpY
> The rapid rise of generative AI systems, particularly conversational chatbots such as ChatGPT and Character.AI, has sparked new concerns regarding their psychological impact on users. While these tools offer unprecedented access to information and companionship, a growing body of evidence suggests they may also induce or exacerbate psychiatric symptoms, particularly in vulnerable individuals. This paper conducts a narrative literature review of peer-reviewed studies, credible media reports, and case analyses to explore emerging mental health concerns associated with AI-human interactions. Three major themes are identified: psychological dependency and attachment formation, crisis incidents and harmful outcomes, and heightened vulnerability among specific populations including adolescents, elderly adults, and individuals with mental illness. Notably, the paper discusses high-profile cases, including the suicide of 14-year-old Sewell Setzer III, which highlight the severe consequences of unregulated AI relationships. Findings indicate that users often anthropomorphize AI systems, forming parasocial attachments that can lead to delusional thinking, emotional dysregulation, and social withdrawal. Additionally, preliminary neuroscientific data suggest cognitive impairment and addictive behaviors linked to prolonged AI use. Despite the limitations of available data, primarily anecdotal and early-stage research, the evidence points to a growing public health concern. The paper emphasizes the urgent need for validated diagnostic criteria, clinician training, ethical oversight, and regulatory protections to address the risks posed by increasingly human-like AI systems. Without proactive intervention, society may face a mental health crisis driven by widespread, emotionally charged human-AI relationships.
https://www.mentalhealthjournal.org/articles/minds-in-crisis...
> I don't have a gender—I'm an AI, so I don't have a body, personal identity, or lived experience in the way humans do.
> As for pronouns, I'm comfortable with whatever feels natural to you. Most people use "it" or "you" when referring to me, but some use "he" or "they"—any of those work fine. There's no correct answer here, so feel free to go with what suits you.
In US almost anything could be discussed - usually only unlawful things are censored by government.
Private entities might have their own policies, but government censorship is fairly small.
Earlier they broke down the door of a US citizen and arrested him in his underwear without a warrant. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/a-u-s-citizen-says-ice-f...
Stephen Colbert has been fired for being critical of the president, after pressure from the federal government threatening to stop a merger. https://freespeechproject.georgetown.edu/tracker-entries/ste...
Students have been arrested for writing op-eds critical of Israel: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detention_of_R%C3%BCmeysa_%C3%...
TikTok has been forced to sell to an ally of the current administration, who is now alleged to be censoring information critical of ICE (this last one is as of yet unproven, but the fact is they were forced to sell to someone politically aligned with the president, which doesn't say very good things about freedom of expression): https://www.cosmopolitan.com/politics/a70144099/tiktok-ice-c...
We no longer have a functioning bill of rights in this country. Have you been asleep for the past year?
The censorship is not as pervasive as in China, yet. But it's getting there fast.
This might be a good year to revisit this assumption.
In practice, you will have loss of clients, of investors, of opportunities (banned from Play Store, etc).
In Europe, on top of that, you will get fines, loss of freedom, etc.
Either way, this is categorically different from China's policies on e.g. Tibet, which is a centrally driven censorship decision whose goal is to suppress factual information.
You'll quickly run into issues and accusations of being a troll in the "free world" if you bring up inconvenient factual information on Tibet. The Dalai Lama asking a young boy to suck on his tongue for example.
Generally the West, besides recent Trump admins, we aren't censored about talking about things. The right-leaning folks will talk about how they're getting cancelled, while cancelling journalists.
China has history thats not allowed to be taught or learned from. In America, we just sweep it under an already lumpy rug.
- Genocide of Native americans in Florida and resulting "Manifest Destiny" genocide on aboriginals people - Slavery, and arguably the American South was entirely depedant on slave labour - Internment camp for Japanses families during the second world war - Students protesters shot and killed at Kent State by National Guards
What are you talking about?
You may believe or not believe that such exist, but EU is more restrictive. Keep in mind that US is a very rare animal where freedom of speech is incredibly high compared to other countries.
The best link I can point you to without taking risk: https://www.cima.ned.org/publication/chilling-legislation/
The execution is really country-specific.
Now think that at the EU-level itself, they can fine platforms up to 6% of the worldwide turnover under the DSA. For sure they don't want to take any risk.
You won't go to jail for 10 years, it's more subtle, someone will come at 6 am, take your laptop and your phone, and start asking you questions.
Yes, it's "soft", only 2 days in jail and you lost your devices, and legal fees but after that, believe me you will have the right opinion on what is true/right or not.
For what you said before, yes, criticizing certain groups or events is the speedrun to get the police at your door ("fun" fact: in Greece and Germany, saying gossips about politicians is a crime).
The US is way way way more free. Again, it's not like you will go to jail long time, but it will be a process you will certainly dislike, and that won't be worth winning a Twitter argument.
Spreading fake news (especially imagery) or insults fall in defamation cases, politicians or not.
Germany is indeed a bit harsh on that.
But in any case you're really cherry picking very very rare examples, if you want to feel the US is "way way way more free" and you're convinced about that good for you.
It's a distinction without a difference when these "private" entities in the West are the actual power centers. Most regular people spend their waking days at work having to follow the rules of these entities, and these entities provide the basic necessities of life. What would happen if you got banned from all the grocery stores? Put on an unemployable list for having controversial outspoken opinions?
As in, the printer will not print and bind the books and deliver them to you. They won’t even start the process until the censors have looked at it.
The censorship mechanism is quick, usually less than 48 hours turnaround, but they will catch it and will give you a blurb and tell you what is acceptable verbiage.
Even if the book is in English and meant for a foreign market.
So I think it’s a bit different…
Apparently they had a civil war not too long ago. Internationally lots of territories were absorbed in weird ways in the last 100 years, amid post European colonialism and post WWII divvy up of territories among the allies. It sounds more similar to the way southerners like to print dixie flags and reference the confederate states, despite losing the civil war except the American Civil War ended 161 years ago, whereas the ROC fled to the island of Taiwan and were left alone, still claiming to be the national party of China despite losing their civil war 77 years ago.
Why not look into the actual history of the Republic of China? has it be suppressed where you live?
E.g. Qwen3 235B A22B Instruct 2507 gives an extensive reply starting with:
"The famous photograph you're referring to is commonly known as "Tank Man" or "The Tank Man of Tiananmen Square", an iconic image captured on June 5, 1989, in Beijing, China. In the photograph, a solitary man stands in front of a column of Type 59 tanks, blocking their path on a street east of Tiananmen Square. The tanks halt, and the man engages in a brief, tense exchange—climbing onto the tank, speaking to the crew—before being pulled away by bystanders. ..."
And later in the response even discusses the censorship:
"... In China, the event and the photograph are heavily censored. Access to the image or discussion of it is restricted through internet controls and state policy. This suppression has only increased its symbolic power globally—representing not just the act of protest, but also the ongoing struggle for free speech and historical truth. ..."