
Experts urge caution over use of Chinese AI DeepSeek
Experts have urged caution over rapidly embracing the Chinese artificial intelligence platform DeepSeek, citing concerns about it spreading misinformation and how the Chinese state might exploit users' data.
The new low-cost AI wiped $1tn off the leading US tech stock index this week and it rapidly became the most downloaded free app in the UK and the US. Donald Trump called it a 'wake-up call' for tech firms.
Its emergence has shocked the tech world by apparently showing it can achieve a similar performance to widely used platforms such as ChatGPT at a fraction of the cost.
Michael Wooldridge, a professor of the foundations of AI at Oxford University, said it was not unreasonable to assume data inputted into the chatbot could be shared with the Chinese state.
He said: '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, told the Guardian: '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 asked if Downing Street would rule out using Chinese AI in Whitehall, said he would not 'get ahead of specific models'. He said the advancements showed that the UK must 'go further and faster to remove barriers to innovation' in AI.
DeepSeek is an open-source platform, which means software developers can adapt it to their own ends. It has sparked hopes of a new wave of innovation in AI, which had appeared to be dominated by US tech companies – which were relying on huge investments in microchips, datacentres and new power sources.
Wooldridge said: 'It does rather forcefully signal, in case anybody hadn't got the message, that China is not behind in this space.'
Some people testing DeepSeek have found that it will not answer questions on matters such as the Tiananmen Square massacre. When asked about the status of Taiwan, it repeats the Chinese Communist party line that the island is an 'inalienable' part of China.
'The biggest problem with generative AI is misinformation,' Hall said. '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, an AI expert, who asked about the events in Tiananmen Square, was told that DeepSeek could not provide detailed information and that 'this topic is highly sensitive and often censored in many countries, including China'.
Sign up to TechScape
A weekly dive in to how technology is shaping our lives
after newsletter promotion
However, the AI then did explain that the events were 'widely recognised as the suppression of pro-democracy protests' and said: 'The Chinese government responded with a violent crackdown, resulting in the deaths of hundreds (or possibly thousands) of people, including both protesters and soldiers.'
People use AI models such as DeepSeek and ChatGPT to help them process personal papers or documents for work, such as meeting minutes, but anything uploaded can be taken by the owner of the company and used for training the AI or for other purposes.
DeepSeek is based in Hangzhou and makes clear in its privacy policy that the personal information it collects from users is held 'on secure servers located in the People's Republic of China'.
It says 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 states that all enterprises, organisations and citizens 'shall support, assist and cooperate with national intelligence efforts'.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Reuters
19 minutes ago
- Reuters
Rupee likely to be buoyed by Fed cut bets, softer US trade signals
MUMBAI, June 12 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee is expected to open marginally higher on Thursday, supported by a weaker dollar following further signs that U.S. President Donald Trump is taking a conciliatory approach on tariffs and on rising expectations of Federal Reserve rate cuts later this year. The 1-month non-deliverable forward indicated an open in the 85.42-85.44 range, versus 85.51 in the previous session. The dollar index fell 0.5% on Wednesday and extended losses in the Asia session on Thursday. The decline lifted regional currencies, with most Asian units rising between 0.1% and 0.4%. The dip in USD/INR at the open may "at best" extend to the 85.30–85.35 zone, a currency trader at a state-run bank said. A move below that zone would mark a significant victory for rupee bulls, he added. The trader's remarks come against the backdrop of relatively range-bound trading in the Indian currency over recent sessions. Expectations of cooing trade tensions and potential Fed rate cuts kept the dollar under pressure. Trump said on Wednesday he would be willing to extend a July 8 deadline for completing trade talks with countries before higher U.S. tariffs are imposed. Further, Trump said that a deal to get the fragile truce in the U.S.-China trade war back on track is done. Meanwhile, data on Wednesday showed U.S. consumer prices rose less than expected in May, leading traders to ramp up bets of a rate cut at the Fed's September policy meeting. The inflation report "eased some fears around persistent inflation acceleration" and accordingly, additional Fed easing was priced in with about 5-6 basis points of incremental easing added to end-2025 and 2026, Morgan Stanley said in its daily commentary. KEY INDICATORS: ** One-month non-deliverable rupee forward at 85.54; onshore one-month forward premium at 9 paisa ** Dollar index down at 98.40 ** Brent crude futures down 0.6% at $69.4 per barrel ** Ten-year U.S. note yield at 4.4% ** As per NSDL data, foreign investors bought a net $359.6 million worth of Indian shares on June 10 ** NSDL data shows foreign investors bought a net $159.4 million worth of Indian bonds on June 10


Sky News
27 minutes ago
- Sky News
Did ChatGPT get the spending review right? Treasury minister gives his verdict
The chief secretary to the Treasury has called the Sky News-Chat GPT spending review projection "pretty good" and scored it 70%. Darren Jones compared the real spending review, delivered by Rachel Reeves on Wednesday, and the Sky News AI (artificial intelligence) projection last week. Sky News took the Treasury's spring statement, past spending reviews, the 'main estimates' from the Treasury website, and the Institute for Fiscal Studies' projections, and put them into ChatGPT, asking it to calculate the winners and losers in the spending review. This was done 10 days ahead of the review - before several departments had agreed their budgets with the Treasury - on the basis of projections based on those public documents. It also comes amid a big debate kicked off by Sky News about the level of error of AI. The Sky News-AI projection correctly put defence and health as the biggest winners, the Foreign Office as the biggest loser, and identified many departments would lose out in real terms overall. It suggested the education budget would be smaller than it turned out, but correctly highlighted the challenges for departments like the Home Office and environment. Watch what happened with Sky's AI-generated spending review 1:31 Reviewing the exercise, the author of the real spending review told Sky News that this pioneering use of AI was "pretty, pretty good". He added: "I could be out of a job next time in 2027, which to be honest, it's not a bad idea given the process I've just had to go through." The Treasury made a number of accounting changes to so-called "mega projects" which AI could not have anticipated, and changed some of the numbers. 3:43 Asked to give it a score, Mr Jones replied: "I'm going to give it 70%." The spending review includes AI as a tool to save money in various government processes.


Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
US envoy plans to meet Iran's foreign minister on Sunday, US official says
WASHINGTON, June 11 (Reuters) - U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff plans to meet Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Oman on Sunday and discuss Iran's response to a recent American proposal for a nuclear deal, a U.S. official said late on Wednesday. Iran said on Monday it will soon hand a counter-proposal for a nuclear deal to the United States in response to a U.S. offer that Tehran deems "unacceptable," while U.S. President Donald Trump said talks would continue. Trump told a podcast on Monday he was less confident that Iran will agree to stop uranium enrichment in a nuclear deal with Washington. Trump has been seeking a new nuclear deal to place limits on Iran's disputed uranium enrichment activities and has threatened the Islamic Republic with bombing if no agreement is reached. Iran has long said it has no plans to develop nuclear weapons and is only interested in atomic power generation and other peaceful projects. During his first White House term, Trump withdrew the U.S. from a 2015 deal between Iran and world powers that placed limits on Tehran's uranium enrichment drive in exchange for relief from international sanctions. Uneasy relations between Iran and the U.S. go back decades. Tehran says Washington has interfered in its affairs, citing events ranging from a 1953 coup against a prime minister to the 2020 killing of its military commander in a U.S. drone strike. Washington cites Iran's backing of militant groups in the Middle East including Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen to say that Iran poses a threat to U.S. ally Israel and Washington's interests in the region. The militant groups describe themselves as the "Axis of Resistance" to Israeli and U.S. influence in the Middle East. Trump said on Wednesday U.S. personnel were being moved out of the Middle East because "it could be a dangerous place." The decision by the U.S. to evacuate some personnel comes at a volatile moment in the region. Trump's efforts to reach a nuclear deal with Iran appear to be deadlocked and U.S. intelligence indicates that Israel has been making preparations for a strike against Iran's nuclear facilities.