Summary:

The launch of Chinese AI application DeepSeek in the U.S. has raised national security concerns among officials, lawmakers, and cybersecurity experts. The app quickly became the most downloaded on Apple’s store, disrupting Wall Street and causing a record 17% drop in Nvidia’s stock. The White House announced an investigation into the potential risks, with some lawmakers calling for stricter export controls to prevent China from leveraging U.S. technology.

Beyond economic impact, experts warn DeepSeek may pose significant data security risks, as Chinese law allows government access to company-held data. Unlike TikTok, which stores U.S. data on Oracle servers, DeepSeek operates directly from China, collecting personal user information. The app also exhibits censorship, blocking content on politically sensitive topics like Tiananmen Square. Some analysts argue that, as an open-source model, DeepSeek may not be as concerning as TikTok, but critics worry its widespread adoption could advance China’s influence through curated information control.

  • credo@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    31
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    edit-2
    2 days ago

    The model isn’t afaik. I.e., if you download one of the models and run it locally. It’s the app with folks pasting proprietary, company secret, etc data into it.

    Really, it’s the same problem as with ChatGPT, but now an organization in another country has your data. I guess we’ll see if our new techno bro overlords try to use this to their advantage across the board to limit competition, even from local processing.

    Taking bets.

    • Liv@lemmy.blahaj.zone
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      28
      arrow-down
      6
      ·
      2 days ago

      I just find it amusing how when proprietary data/company secrets/whatever are being sent to openAI it’s a matter of “that was irresponsible don’t let it happen again” but some guy in Kentucky isn’t able to get a detailed description of Tiananmen Square from the US perspective without a little effort and it’s the end of national security as we know it.

      Same with the tiktok ban. How many classified military secrets do we think some regular dude in a trailer in Alabama really has on his phone?

      “National Security” in the US is literally just code for rich people’s bank accounts at this point.

      • Bahnd Rollard@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        17
        ·
        edit-2
        2 days ago

        The War Thunder forum is a greater threat to “national security” than any of this AI whohash. Something, something, nickle…

      • Optional@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        2
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        1 day ago

        Same with the tiktok ban. How many classified military secrets do we think some regular dude in a trailer in Alabama really has on his phone?

        Depends. Are there any military things in Alabama?

          • Optional@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            3
            arrow-down
            1
            ·
            1 day ago

            Uh . . no . . no we hav- I mean, I haven’t. Could you maybe upload some video of this “Huntsville”? Preferably in angles that are not otherwise obtainable via a sweep of existing Internet resources?

            We uh have a friend who is very interested in Huntsville, maybe you could focus on some of the city’s important areas and uh, industries.

      • Pennomi@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        5
        arrow-down
        4
        ·
        2 days ago

        Well yeah, it’s obviously more of a risk to send directly to your rival than internally. Both are risky but one is much, much worse.

        • Liv@lemmy.blahaj.zone
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          10
          arrow-down
          5
          ·
          2 days ago

          And what exactly is the average person sending to China that’s such a threat to US global Imperialism?

          Sure, ban it on government devices or whatever you want to do, but why should civilians be punished because the government can’t embezzle as efficiently?

            • Liv@lemmy.blahaj.zone
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              1
              arrow-down
              1
              ·
              1 day ago

              And why should I be more worried about a hypothetical psyop that i might experience than the current psyops that I am experiencing?

              • catloaf@lemm.ee
                link
                fedilink
                English
                arrow-up
                1
                ·
                1 day ago

                You are experiencing psyops from every direction. Some are just more obvious than others.

          • Optional@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            1
            arrow-down
            1
            ·
            1 day ago

            And what exactly is the average person sending to China that’s such a threat to US global Imperialism?

            Am agreeink with these quesiton. Too many US politicians are not great leaders like Putin. And China.

          • Pennomi@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            1
            arrow-down
            2
            ·
            1 day ago

            Stupid users send private keys and other secrets to their AIs all the time. This is a big fucking threat to US global imperialism.

            The US trusts OpenAI (even if they shouldn’t) to not send hackers after US companies. They definitely don’t trust Chinese companies to have the same restraints.

            • Liv@lemmy.blahaj.zone
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              2
              ·
              1 day ago

              Unfortunately that’s just a danger on the internet. Stupid users are gonna get scammed whether it’s a stock trading AI that empties your bank account when you link it or a Nigerian Prince who just needs $5000 so he can unlock his fortune and repay you $100,000.

              Even then, what national security upending information does the average citizen have stored on their phone that they’re just whimsically uploading anywhere that’ll take a PDF? Like I said, I understand restrictions on devices used by government officials for official purposes, but to ban it unilaterally for civilian use as well seems excessive.