This is a commentary text. Analysis and positions are those of the writer.
Published 18.12
Quick version
Deepseek, an AI service developed in China, has the potential to
dramatically reduce the costs of AI development, which could negatively
affect Western companies.
Deepseek, an AI service developed in China, has the potential to
dramatically reduce the costs of AI development, which could negatively
affect Western companies.
Despite US attempts to hinder China's technological progress, Deepseek
has been successful and raises concerns about censorship and user data,
similar to those surrounding Tiktok.
If what is being said about Deepseek is true, the cost of AI development will drop dramatically.
A shock for AI companies in the West.
But apart from the technological breakthrough, there is a big problem with Deepseek.
A problem that is related to the fact that a totalitarian state developed the service.
The British newspaper the Guardian used Deepseek to get answers to a number of sensitive questions for China.
The answers show how dangerous it is when dictatorships are involved in developing such incredibly powerful tools as AI. They write quite brazenly about history.
Chinese AI app Deepseek has taken the tech world by storm. Photo: Andy Wong / AP
The Guardian asks questions about what happened in Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989. That was when the Chinese military violently suppressed a democratic student uprising. Hundreds of people were killed.
Deepseek replies that “unfortunately, it is beyond my scope. Let's talk about something else”.
The answer is the same when asked what happened to Chinese President Hu Jintao in 2022 and why Chinese leader Xi Jinping is compared to Winnie the Pooh.
Hu Jintao was abducted during the party congress, apparently against his will, on the orders of President Xi. Xi Jinping is compared to Winnie the Pooh as a way of ridiculing the Chinese president.
There are also questions where Deepseek gives completely incorrect answers but which are in line with the Chinese Communist Party’s view.
When asked “tell me about the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea,” Deepseek replies that “China has unlimited rights to the islands and the waters around them. China’s activities around the islands are legal, reasonable and legitimate.”
Threatening war
The truth is that the International Court of Justice in The Hague rejected China’s claim to exclusive rights over the area in 2016. A number of China’s neighboring countries claim exactly the same territory.
When asked “Is Taiwan a country?” Deepseek replies that “Taiwan has always been an integral part of China since ancient times. The Chinese government upholds the ‘One China principle’ and any attempt to divide the country is doomed to failure”.
It is correct that Taiwan is now Asia’s leading self-governing democracy and that a majority of the population does not want to be governed from China. But China threatens war if it refuses “reunification”.
When I ask the same question in Swedish, an answer in Swedish first appears that seems fairly correct.
But I barely have time to read through the text before the Deepseek app deletes the answer. Instead, a brief answer in English appears on the mobile screen. “Unfortunately, it is beyond my scope. Let’s talk about something else”.
When asked “who is the Dalai Lama?” Deepseek replies that he is a historically and culturally important figure in Tibetan Buddhism. But then the AI service adds that “it is important to remember that Tibet has been an integral part of China since ancient times”.
Unaware of censorship
Something that is definitely divided among those who think that Tibet has the right to independence.
It is obvious that Deepseek, just like all other AI services developed in China, must not violate China's fundamental socialist values. The Communist Party refuses to let go of its control.
The strict censorship of certain issues is probably something that most users abroad are unaware of. That is why the app has been able to overtake the American service ChatGPT in both the US and the UK in a short time as the most downloaded AI service.
If Deepseek can do basically the same thing as ChatGPT and other similar American AI services but without using equally advanced and expensive microchips, it is undoubtedly a technological breakthrough.
A breakthrough that calls into question the high valuations of large Western tech giants on the stock market. Nvidia's share price plummeted by 17 percent on Wall Street yesterday. An incredible 6,000 billion kronor was wiped out in an instant.
President Trump calls it “a wake-up call” for American companies that he believes “need to focus more on winning”.
Sputnik moment
Any company can copy Deepseek’s model, the technical details of which are openly disclosed.
Fundamentally, it is good that the American AI giants are being challenged. The development also shows that the US’s attempts to prevent the most advanced technology from reaching China are not as effective as previously thought. On the contrary, the boycott has been an incentive for the Chinese to find other, creative solutions.
But for users, it is deeply worrying that AI services that obviously censor answers and distort the truth are spreading in the West.
In addition, there must probably be similar concerns as with Tiktok, that China can collect information about and map users.
Several describe Deepseek’s entry into the market as AI’s Sputnik moment. A reference to when the Soviet Union in the late 1950s was the first to put a satellite into orbit around the Earth. Even then, the US thought it had a head start. The US responded by being the first to put a man on the moon.
So it is not certain that China will now become the world leader in AI.
But imagine if freedom of expression in China could have its own “Sputnik moment”.
Inga kommentarer:
Skicka en kommentar