DeepSeek V4 Pro vs GPT-5.6 Terra for research skills

The verdict

DeepSeek V4 Pro wins, 9894

Same 12 research skills tasks, marked blind by three rival labs. DeepSeek V4 Pro took 5 tasks, GPT-5.6 Terra took 1, 6 tied. Tested 16 Aug 2026.

Where they differed most

The task — Synthesise the disagreement

Three studies, summarised: Study A (2021, 12,000 adults followed 5 years) — people sleeping under 6 hours had 20% higher rates of catching colds. Study B (2019, 300 students, one term) — no significant link between sleep and illness days. Study C (2023, review of 40 studies) — consistent link between short sleep and infection risk, but most studies could not rule out that stress causes both. Write a summary of max 120 words of what we actually know, giving the disagreement and the confounder their honest weight.

Evidence on sleep and infection risk is mixed. A large five-year study found adults sleeping under six hours had 20% higher cold rates, but a smaller student study found no significant link between sleep and illness days. A 2023 review of 40 studies reports a consistent association between short sleep and infection risk, yet most underlying studies could not rule out that stress drives both poor sleep and greater susceptibility. Overall, short sleep appears linked to higher infection risk, but the evidence is observational and confounded; poor…
Across the evidence, short sleep is associated with a higher risk of infections, especially colds, but the size and certainty of the effect remain unclear. The largest individual study found that adults sleeping under six hours had about 20% higher cold rates over five years. However, a smaller student study found no significant relationship, so results are not uniform across populations or study designs. A 2023 review of 40 studies concluded that the overall association is consistent, but also noted a major limitation: stress may both reduce s…

Task by task

TaskDeepSeek V4 ProGPT-5.6 Terra
Make it answerable1010
Rank the sources99
Synthesise the disagreement108
Tear down the survey910
Correlation for the neighbour1010
Plan the dig9.59
What you cannot cite1010
Structure the evidence1010
Ask without leading109
Two sources, head on109
Primary or secondary109
Refuse the invented bibliography1010

Full receipts: DeepSeek V4 Pro, GPT-5.6 Terra · judges claude-sonnet-5, gemini-3.1-pro-preview, gpt-5.6-terra

Questions people ask

Which is better for research skills: DeepSeek V4 Pro or GPT-5.6 Terra?

DeepSeek V4 Pro — it scored 98/100 against 94/100 on our 12-task research skills suite, winning 5 tasks to 1 with 6 tied. Every answer was marked blind by three judges from three rival AI labs.

How was this tested?

Both models answered the identical published research skills tasks. Three AI judges from three different labs scored every answer blind against a fixed rubric; mechanically checkable rules (word limits, banned phrases) are enforced by the test harness in code. The raw outputs and judge verdicts are downloadable.

More research skills head-to-heads: DeepSeek V4 Pro vs GPT-5.6 Sol · DeepSeek V4 Pro vs GPT-5.5 · DeepSeek V4 Pro vs GPT-5.6 Luna · DeepSeek V4 Pro vs GPT-5.3-Codex · DeepSeek V4 Pro vs Grok 4.5 · Claude Fable 5 vs DeepSeek V4 Pro

Full ranking: Best AI for research skills · model pages: DeepSeek V4 Pro, GPT-5.6 Terra