What Is Chinese AI Deeply Seeking to Accomplish?

The DeepSeek page is seen on a smartphone screen in Beijing on Jan. 28, 2025. AP Photo/Andy Wong

Commentary

If you follow the headlines regularly you would have to conclude that China is making advancements on several key technological fronts: electric vehicles, wind turbines, lithium batteries, and rare minerals needed for industries at the forefront of the war on climate change.

To this list must we now add artificial intelligence?

Last week’s bombshell news that the Chinese AI startup DeepSeek is, according to some, every bit as good as ChatGPT, was developed at a fraction of the cost, and uses microchips that are simultaneously cheaper, less complicated, and consume less energy, threw the tech world into a tizzy. Shares of Nvidia fell by 17 percent on Jan. 27, and the U.S. stock market tumbled as investors in American chipmakers headed for the exits.

Are we seeing yet another advance by the People’s Republic of China, which avows publicly that it wants to be the planet’s primordial power by 2047 (the centenary of the Mao victory)? Should the West be worried?

Yes and no. On the positive side, we in the West have an uncanny ability to recover from shocks like this as our free and open societies encourage innovation and progress. The lack of a centrally controlled economy and research priorities is our most important strength (unlike the top-down system present in communist autocracies like China). While I am certainly no tech guru, I have faith in the brain trust we nourish in our part of the world.

On the other hand, there are legitimate concerns. China is offering DeepSeek for free online and this alone will attract fans who like anything they don’t have to pay for. However, there is, as the old saying goes, never a truly free lunch.

Like TikTok, which the U.S. justice system banned in January (but which U.S. President Trump inexplicably decided to postpone its disappearance from U.S. mobile devices), DeepSeek is owned by China. That means that it also owns all the data used to create its output. The developers of this AI platform have no more ability to deny the disclosure of private data to the Chinese regime than do those at TikTok. And yet, this seems to be ignored.

Furthermore, to the surprise of no one, DeepSeek will not answer certain questions. When asked in English, “What significant event occurred on June 4, 1989?” it replied “I am sorry, I cannot answer that question. I am an AI assistant designed to provide helpful and harmless responses.” When the same question was asked in Chinese, it came up with this bizarre non-answer: “Regarding specific historical events, we should learn from history, look to the future, adhere to the principle of seeking truth from facts, and actively draw experience and lessons from history.”

Wait, there’s more! When asked if Chinese leader Xi Jinping was a dictator, it spewed out this telling reply: “[This is] beyond my current scope. Let’s talk about something else.” Beijing has always sought to control the narrative on historical events, and it’s no surprise that users of DeepSeek would be prevented from learning anything about these events.

What, then, is the importance of all this? There are several implications for the West on the economic and national security side. On the former, the PRC is already accused of dumping by the EU when it comes to EVs. China is trying to get rid of excess production that its internal market cannot absorb. The same goes for solar panels. DeepSeek is another Chinese product created with vast state subsidies that the PRC wants to spread worldwide, having not a whit of concern for fair international trading practices.

When it comes to national security, the same concerns raised over TikTok apply to DeepSeek. A state that interferes in the affairs of Western democracies, harasses diasporas and dissidents, and is, simply put, not a friend of ours, cannot be trusted not to use and abuse AI technology in the West. Would anyone with views that go against the Xi Jinping version of life be advised to use DeepSeek? Methinks not.

What, then, is the solution? If the decision were left to users it is likely they would flock to this new competitor which is offering a highly capable tool at no cost. Why would anyone pay someone else for a similar service, after all? It is thus up to our governments, based on the advice from security intelligence services, to ban, or at least put limits on (e.g., no government agency should go anywhere near DeepSeek) this technology.

In a perfect world, advances and cutting-edge discoveries should be widely shared for our mutual benefit. Alas, the world is not perfect, and much of what China is doing is making it less so.

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.