As artificial intelligence continues to grow in influence, a new player, DeepSeek AI, is attracting attention for its advanced capabilities, while also raising important questions about privacy, censorship and the control of information. Based in China, DeepSeek aims to compete with established AI models like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini. While its capabilities have impressed some users, concerns about privacy and government influence have sparked debate.
DeepSeek AI has developed chatbots and language models that function similarly to popular AI assistants. It provides users with conversational responses, generates text and offers translations. Some reports suggest that DeepSeek’s model performs well, showing promise in various applications.
Despite its effectiveness, it is still crucial to recognize that the company is still relatively new. It has yet to establish itself as a major competitor in the AI field, where American companies like OpenAI and Google currently dominate. Still, with China investing heavily in AI development, DeepSeek has the potential to grow quickly.
Concerns and discussions surrounding DeepSeek about how it handles user data have risen significantly since the inauguration of President Trump, considering his stance on privacy from the Chinese government. Unlike many Western AI companies, DeepSeek has stated that user data from the U.S. is sent to China. This has raised alarms among privacy advocates, especially given China’s strict internet regulations and history of government surveillance.
While DeepSeek claims to follow data security practices in its terms and conditions and other sources, there is very little transparency about how user information is stored or used. This has led some experts to caution against using AI for sensitive topics or personal inquiries.
President Donald Trump has expressed concerns about DeepSeek AI, particularly regarding its potential to influence U.S. users and the possibility of it promoting censorship. He referred to the launch of DeepSeek’s chatbot as a “wake-up call” for the United States.
“There’s substantial evidence that what DeepSeek did here is they distilled the knowledge out of OpenAI’s models,” David Sacks, an advisor to President Trump on all AI matters, said.
Another key issue is censorship. Some users have reported that DeepSeek avoids or restricts discussions about topics sensitive to the Chinese government. This includes political issues, human rights and criticism of the Chinese leadership.
China has strict regulations on online content and other various AI models trained within the country must follow these rules. This raises concerns about bias and limits on free speech, particularly for users outside China who may expect a more open discussion from AI tools.
The censorship issue with DeepSeek is significant for Americans because it threatens freedom of speech and access to unbiased information. In the U.S., we value open discussion, and if an AI model is filtering out certain topics or perspectives, it could limit the variety of viewpoints available to users. This raises concerns about how Americans engage with global events or political issues.
Despite these concerns, DeepSeek has the potential to impact the AI landscape. With China’s government supporting technological growth, the company may continue to expand and improve its models. However, its success outside of China may depend on whether it can address privacy and censorship concerns.
For now, DeepSeek remains a developing story. Users and experts alike will be watching closely to see how it evolves in an industry that is rapidly shaping the future of technology.
As DeepSeek AI and other emerging technologies continue to reshape the digital landscape, it’s clear that the rapid advancement of AI brings both opportunities and challenges. For high school students and young users, understanding the potential impacts of these tools—whether in terms of privacy, censorship or bias—is more important than ever. As we navigate this new era, it’s crucial to stay informed, question what we encounter online and make choices that prioritize a free, open exchange of ideas. The future of AI is still unfolding, and how we engage with it today will shape the world of tomorrow.
Photo Credit: “deepseek auf dem Smartphone” by Tim Reckmann is licensed under (CC BY-NC 2.0)
