There has been significant attention on the quick adoption of China’s artificial intelligence platform DeepSeek by experts, leading to the spread of misinformation and raising concerns about the use of user data by Chinese entities.
This new low-cost AI has caused a $100 million drop in the major US high-tech index this week, becoming the most downloaded free app in the UK and US. Donald Trump referred to it as a “wake-up call” for high-tech companies.
The emergence of DeepSeek in the high-tech world has shocked many, showing that platforms like ChatGpt can achieve similar performance at lower costs.
Michael Urdridge, an AI Foundation professor at the University of Oxford, expressed concerns about potential sharing of data entered in the chatbot with the Chinese government.
He mentioned: “I don’t see an issue in asking about Liverpool Football Club’s performance or the history of the Roman Empire, but when it comes to sensitive, personal, or private information, it raises concerns… I’m unsure about the destination of the data.”
Dame Wendy Hall, a UN High-Level Advisory Group member, highlighted the importance of establishing clear rules on what can and cannot be shared.
When questioned about the UK’s stance on using AI from China, Downing Street did not specify a particular model but emphasized the need to remove barriers to innovation in AI.
DeepSeek is an open-source platform, allowing software developers to customize it for their needs. This has sparked hope for new AI innovations, challenging the dominance of US high-tech companies that heavily invest in microchips, data centers, and power supply.
Wooldridge mentioned that some users testing DeepSeek found that it avoided answering questions on sensitive topics like Tiananmen Square, instead echoing the Chinese Communist Party’s views on Taiwan.
Concerns were raised about the potential for misinformation with AI models like DeepSeek and ChatGpt, depending on the data used and how it’s interpreted. Users can verify these issues with the DeepSeek chatbot.
One user, Azeem Azhar, an AI expert, noted that DeepSeek struggled to provide information on the Tiananmen Square events, citing censorship as a factor.
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However, AI clarified that the Tiananmen Square events are widely recognized as a crackdown on democracy protests, with the Chinese government responding violently.
People use AI models like DeepSeek and ChatGpt to analyze documents for personal and work purposes, but the data uploaded by the company’s owner can be used for AI training and other applications.
DeepSeek, based in Hangzhou, detailed in its privacy policy that user information is stored on secure servers in China.
They state that data usage is carried out to comply with legal obligations, perform tasks for public interest, or protect user and other essential interests, as per Chinese National Information Law guidelines.
Source: www.theguardian.com
