OpenAI has taken a significant stance against DeepSeek, a Chinese artificial intelligence platform, by proposing a ban on its use within U.S. government, military, and intelligence services. The proposal, spotted by Techradar, extends beyond just the ban on DeepSeek, recommending restrictions on the use of Chinese-produced technology, including Huawei’s chips, which OpenAI argues could compromise user privacy and national security due to risks like intellectual property theft.
OpenAI’s Vice President of Global Affairs, Chris Lehane, has characterized DeepSeek as “state-subsidized” and “state-controlled,” emphasizing concerns about potential manipulation by the Chinese government. The tech giant is particularly concerned about the push by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to surpass the United States in artificial intelligence by 2030, urging the U.S. to maintain its leadership in AI built on democratic principles.
DeepSeek recently shook the AI industry by providing comparable output to OpenAI’s ChatGPT through its DeepSeek-R1 model at a fraction of the cost, sparking an immediate drop in stock prices for companies heavily invested in AI, including NVIDIA. While the market has since bounced back, questions linger over how DeepSeek achieved such rapid advancements. Analysts are speculating about whether it employed innovative training methodologies or extracted data from OpenAI, potentially violating terms of service.
Moreover, there are concerns regarding the application of DeepSeek in critical infrastructure, given the possibility that it could be coerced by the CCP to alter its models maliciously. Although there is currently no direct evidence implicating the Chinese government in DeepSeek’s operations, its chatbot has displayed limitations when engaged with politically sensitive topics.
OpenAI wants the AI Action Plan to ensure that American innovations in the field of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), thrive against the backdrop of authoritarian technologies, seeking a future where individuals can access and benefit from AI freely.
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