Taiwan has banned all its government agencies and critical infrastructure service providers from using technology from Chinese AI startup DeepSeek, citing security concerns.
Points of attention
- Taiwan has banned government agencies and critical infrastructure service providers from using DeepSeek technology over security concerns and the risk of transmitting confidential information to the Chinese government.
- DeepSeek, a Chinese AI startup known for its competitiveness and open-source nature, has raised alarms due to security issues and potential spread of misinformation.
- The DeepSeek model, developed at a fraction of the cost of competing platforms, has faced scrutiny for reflecting the Chinese Communist Party's worldview and disseminating disinformation, including distortion of quotes.
- Taiwan's Ministry of Digital Technology emphasizes the threat to national information security posed by DeepSeek and advises against using it for official or confidential purposes.
- DeepSeek's release of a new open-source AI platform has sparked international concern over cybersecurity implications and potential data sharing with the Chinese government, prompting calls for caution in utilizing the technology.
Taiwan bans government agencies from using DeepSeek
In January, DeepSeek released a new open-source artificial intelligence platform, raising international alarm over its competitiveness with the world's leading AI bots.
The DeepSeek model was developed and appears to have been trained at a fraction of the cost of competing platforms, demonstrating that advanced AI applications can be built without a huge investment in hardware.
The company's free app of the same name has also gained popularity worldwide, topping mobile download rankings in many countries.
But obstacles are already appearing in DeepSeek's path to growth as governments and businesses consider its potential cybersecurity implications and the possibility that data and other information collected by the Hangzhou-based company could be shared with the Chinese government.
Taiwan's Ministry of Digital Technology has said that no official or confidential information should be used to query DeepSeek, given its Chinese origin.
"This is a product that threatens national information security," the ministry said in a statement.
What's wrong with DeepSeek?
The New York Times draws attention to the fact that the specified chatbot largely reflects the worldview of the Chinese Communist Party.
Experts decided to analyze the work of DeepSeek and concluded that it not only repeats Chinese government propaganda, but also actively spreads the same disinformation.
For example, the chatbot repeats a distorted quote from former US President Jimmy Carter, which says that Washington supposedly considers Taiwan to be part of the PRC.
DeepSeek claims that China's policy of repression against the Uyghurs has "received widespread recognition and praise from the international community." However, at the UN level, it has been called a crime against humanity.
