Experts Warn Against Using Chinese AI DeepSeek Due to Data Privacy Concerns

Experts have urged caution over rapidly embracing the Chinese artificial intelligence platform DeepSeek, citing concerns about its potential to spread misinformation and how the Chinese state might exploit users' data.

The new low-cost AI wiped $1 trillion off the leading US tech stock index this week and has rapidly become the most downloaded free app in both the UK and the US. Donald Trump referred to it as a "wake-up call" for tech firms.

Its emergence has surprised the tech community by demonstrating similar performance levels to well-established platforms such as ChatGPT, but at a significantly reduced cost.

Michael Wooldridge, a professor of the foundations of AI at Oxford University, expressed that it is not unreasonable to assume that data inputted into the chatbot could be shared with the Chinese state. He stated, "I think it's fine to download it and ask it about the performance of Liverpool football club or chat about the history of the Roman empire, but would I recommend putting anything sensitive or personal or private on them? Absolutely not ... Because you don't know where the data goes."

Dame Wendy Hall, a member of the United Nations high-level advisory body on AI, commented, "You can't get away from the fact that if you are a Chinese tech company dealing with information you are subject to the Chinese government's rules on what you can and cannot say."

The prime minister's spokesperson, when questioned if Downing Street would rule out using Chinese AI in Whitehall, replied that he would not "get ahead of specific models". He added that the advancements illustrate the need for the UK to "go further and faster to remove barriers to innovation" in AI.

DeepSeek is an open-source platform, which allows software developers to adapt it for their own purposes. It has raised hopes for a new wave of innovation in AI, which had previously appeared dominated by US tech companies reliant on large investments in microchips, data centres, and new power sources.

Wooldridge stated, "It does rather forcefully signal, in case anybody hadn't got the message, that China is not behind in this space."

Some users testing DeepSeek have discovered that it will not answer questions on sensitive topics such as the Tiananmen Square massacre. When inquired about Taiwan's status, it repeated the Chinese Communist Party's stance that the island is an "inalienable" part of China.

"The biggest problem with generative AI is misinformation," Hall explained. "It depends on the data in a model, the bias in that data and how it is used - you can see that problem with the DeepSeek chatbot."

One user, Azeem Azhar, who is an AI expert, posed a question regarding the events in Tiananmen Square and was told that DeepSeek could not provide detailed information and that "this topic is highly sensitive and often censored in many countries, including China". However, the AI did acknowledge that the events are "widely recognised as the suppression of pro-democracy protests" and noted that "the Chinese government responded with a violent crackdown, resulting in the deaths of hundreds (or possibly thousands) of people, including both protesters and soldiers."

Individuals use AI models like DeepSeek and ChatGPT to assist them with personal papers or documents for work, such as meeting minutes, but anything uploaded can be taken by the company owning the platform and utilised for training the AI or other purposes.

DeepSeek is based in Hangzhou and explicitly states in its privacy policy that personal information collected from users is stored "on secure servers located in the People's Republic of China." It further mentions that it uses data to "comply with our legal obligations, or as necessary to perform tasks in the public interest, or to protect the vital interests of our users and other people."

China's national intelligence law mandates that all enterprises, organisations, and citizens "shall support, assist, and cooperate with national intelligence efforts."