Diving into DeepSeek: inside the 7 February Guardian Weekly
It's been a tale of technology and tariffs this week as a Chinese-developed chatbot delivered the first shock to stock markets after appearing to have stolen a march on US tech supremacy. For our big story, technology editors Robert Booth and Dan Milmo dived into the implications of DeepSeek, a cheaper and less energy intensive AI tool than Silicon Valley rivals such as OpenAI's ChatGPT.
Within days of DeepSeek's stealth launch, it had raced up the download charts but equally as fast, its limitations when questioned on tricky subjects such as contentious Chinese history were pointed out by testers. With the help of typical Turing test questions we, however, report that all chatbots on the market have their limitations. And, as commentator Kenan Malik writes, the real shock of the new pretender owes more to economics than technical developments.
Meanwhile, barely recovered from their tech tremors, the markets reeled again as Donald Trump unveiled his promised tariff tactics. While Mexico and Canada won a month's reprieve after agreeing to shore up their borders against Trump's claims of migrants and illegal drugs coming into the US, China stood up to the White House by imposing its own tariffs on US imports. In a week when the news, seemingly, never had a moment to draw breath, this edition of Guardian Weekly is a chance to reflect on these two globally significant events.
Try the Guardian Weekly with our time-limited 12 for 12 offer
Spotlight | My home was crushed and buried Gaza-based reporter Malek A Tantesh records her family's arduous walk back to Beit Lahia in northern Gaza, the joy of making her way home but the sorrow of the destruction she saw
Environment | Why icebreakers are a hot topic in the Arctic?While Donald Trump seems intent on securing Greenland, our Nordic correspondent Miranda Bryant speaks to local experts, who explain that it will be no mean feat to control shipping routes through the prized Northwest Passage
Feature | My inside storyImprisoned for her part in the UK's Just Stop Oil protests, Louise Lancaster reflects on prison conditions and what she has learned from her time in jail
Opinion | Labour is sacrificing everything to the god of GDPThe government is committing environmental vandalism via chancellor Rachel Reeves' push for growth at all costs and is no better than its Tory predecessors, says George Monbiot
Culture | Bridget Jones is back As the ultimate singleton returns, older and wiser after 25 years, the star and creator of the new movie, Renée Zellweger and Helen Fielding, tell Hollie Richardson why her appeal hasn't dimmed
Wider fears about the direction of artificial intelligence were allayed somewhat by this sweet tale of an 'AI granny' chatbot named Daisy, designed to frustrate telephone fraudsters with a stream of befuddling inquiries about cups of tea, knitting and how computers work. Graham Snowdon, editor
Audio | Alice Weidel: the far-right banker Elon Musk wants as German chancellor
Video | How immigration is used as a political weapon
Gallery | Marianne Faithfull – a life in pictures
We'd love to hear your thoughts on the magazine: for submissions to our letters page, please email weekly.letters@theguardian.com. For anything else, it's editorial.feedback@theguardian.com
Facebook
Instagram
Get the Guardian Weekly magazine delivered to your home address
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
36 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE How Greta Thunberg relishes being 'the poster girl for rebellious teenagers': JUDI JAMES reveals how she uses all the tricks of a political pro
Environment activist Greta Thunberg is projecting 'power and authority' by taking control of the narrative when she speaks, a body language expert said today. Judi James told MailOnline that the campaigner projects the 'image of a heroine' and her confidence on the global stage 'would match or even exceed seasoned leaders'. The activist was deported by Israel yesterday, a day after the Gaza-bound ship she was on was seized by the Israeli military. She has now returned to Sweden. Of the 12 activists on board the Madleen, which was carrying food and supplies for Gaza, four including 22-year-old Ms Thunberg agreed to be deported immediately. Ms Thunberg has now called for the release of the other activists who were detained aboard the Madleen, and described a 'quite chaotic and uncertain' situation. She also claimed Israel had 'kidnapped' the group in international waters and 'taken them against their will', adding that it was 'another intentional violation of rights'. Analysing her body language yesterday, Ms James said Ms Thunberg has 'several verbal and visual skills that could make her the poster girl for rebellious teenagers'. She claimed the activist still looks like a teenager despite her age, and her 'youthful appearance tends to add to the image of a heroine as she appears as a loner'. Ms James described Ms Thunberg as 'the isolated youth standing against the world of old male leaders and their nations', adding that her delivery is 'primarily political'. She continued: 'When she speaks she utilises many of the communication devices world leaders use to project power and authority. 'Her confidence levels on the global stage would match or even exceed seasoned leaders like Starmer as she looks firmly welded to her own message and view of what is right. 'Her body language suggests a sense of powerful self-affirmation for her messages. Her conviction looks unassailable. She seems to offer facts not opinions and there is her wry smile that seems to mock anyone who disagrees with her.' Ms James also noted a 'contrast of superiority and authority coming from the one who looks like the youngest in any room', saying that this created a 'counter-intuitive response in older heads while younger fans will see a path to power and the ability to change the world'. She continued: 'Her wry smile as she begins to talk gives that impression of superiority, as though she is silently mocking her critics. 'Like any good politician she uses pause and enunciation to pick out certain words she wants to be memorable and have emphasis. 'Her brows raise in an expression of authority and when she says more than once 'That is an illegal act' her staccato nod and her small shoulder shrugs help give the impression that she thinks she is on top of all the laws in this critical situation.' Ms James added that Ms Thunberg 'knows how to take control of the narrative' like most politicians, and she now appears calmer than in previous years when she had become known for 'dramatic emotional displays'. Her comment that 'That is not the real story' displayed skill in 'redirecting and taking control' during an interview, according to Ms James. The expert concluded: 'This version of Thunberg could project a contagious type of rebellion via the way her body bristles with defiance. 'Walking along alone in another clip though her body language tended to be more about teenage style stubbornness. Her arms were firmly folded, her lips clamped, and her chin lifted to suggest a refusal to back down or buckle under pressure.' Speaking upon arrival in Paris en route to her home country of Sweden yesterday, Ms Thunberg called for the release of the other activists who were detained aboard the Madleen. The conditions they faced during the detention 'are absolutely nothing compared to what people are going through in Palestine and especially Gaza right now,' she said. The trip was meant to protest against Israeli restrictions on aid to Gaza's population of over two million people after 20 months of war, according to the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, the group behind the journey. 'We were well aware of the risks of this mission,' Ms Thunberg said. 'The aim was to get to Gaza and to be able to distribute the aid.' She said the activists would continue trying to get aid to Gaza. On Monday, US President Donald Trump called Ms Thunberg 'a young angry person' and recommended she take anger management classes. 'I think the world need a lot more young angry women,' Ms Thunberg said yesterday in response.
The Independent
37 minutes ago
- The Independent
Watch: Trump reacts to news that actors are boycotting his attendance at Kennedy Center
Donald Trump says he is unbothered by actors boycotting his attendance of Les Misérables at the Kennedy Center Wednesday night (11 June). Several 'Les Mis' cast members are expected to sit out the performance fundraiser after news broke that the president would be in the audience. As Trump walked the red carpet with Melania ahead of the show, a reporter asked him how he felt about the actors' protest. 'I couldn't care less, honestly, I couldn't,' Trump said. 'All I do is run the country well.' The president proceeded to list off some of his perceived accomplishments from his second term.
Spectator
an hour ago
- Spectator
In defence of the Trump playbook
The standard explanation for why charges for plastic bags reduced waste is economic. People were reluctant to pay 10p for a bag and so brought their own instead. This is partly true. But it would still be highly effective if the charge for a bag were merely 1p. That's because charging any amount, however trifling, was sufficient to change the implicit assumptions about normal retail behaviour. Previously, if you went into Boots and bought, say, a toothbrush and a tube of Anusol, the default was for the cashier to put them in a new bag – it would have seemed rude not to do so. Suddenly, however, the imposition of a charge meant that shopkeepers had to ask whether you wanted a bag or not. Often the answer was 'no'; you had one already, or, if you were a chap, your clothing was miraculously equipped with things called 'pockets'. There are many ways in which you can achieve large changes in behaviour without imposing large economic penalties. For instance, I contend that you could significantly reduce intergenerational inequality simply by the imposition of a property tax of 0.1 per cent annually on all homes. The relatively small amount raised could be hypothecated to fund child benefit, or to reduce the income tax burden on the young. For the purposes of comparison, the typical property tax levied by those well-known leftists in the State of Texas is slightly over 1.8 per cent. Bear me out. I am borrowing here from the Donald Trump playbook. This is an under-rated approach to legislation where you impose taxes not for their direct effect, but for their symbolic value. By sending a surprising signal, you can change behaviour by unseating the unthinking assumptions people hold about the future. You don't necessarily have to do anything massive – you simply raise the possibility you might. Most human behaviour runs on implicit deterrents of this kind. By sending a surprising signal, you can change behaviour by unseating the unthinking assumptions people hold Before The Donald, it had become an axiomatic assumption in all businesses that no democratic government of any political stripe would ever deviate from the smug Davos neo-liberal globalist consensus in any shape or form. This artificial certainty meant that for decades you could offshore employment with abandon and treat your native staff fairly shabbily, without fear of any adverse consequences. Today it's different: even if you later reduce many tariffs to near zero and stop randomly abusing Canada, the signal has been sent. I hate to say this, but this approach could work well to solve many other problems. For instance, Britons have been lulled into planning for their future on the assumption that three unwritten rules underpin the tax system. 1) If you actually get up in the morning and do some useful work for which you get paid, you'll be taxed to buggery; 2) If you acquire wealth and then ride the wave of asset-price inflation (i.e. you have more money than you need 'cos you're old), you will be treated very generously; 3) If the asset in question is your own home, you won't be taxed at all, and nor will your good-for-nothing kids when they inherit it all. A large part of the reason why young people cannot afford to buy homes is nothing to do with the use value of a home – it is driven by the as-yet-unshaken belief that residential property has been sanctified as an asset class. It is this belief which possibly accounts for 25 per cent of the price of a home and a similarly large part of oldsters' pathological reluctance to downsize. Residential property is seen as Britain's only tax haven. To unseat this assumption, you don't need to rewrite the whole tax code, or go full Henry George – much as I would personally support this. You just have to make the unthinkable suddenly thinkable.
