The Taiwan authorities’s current resolution to implement a ban on using the DeepSeek synthetic intelligence chatbot inside its public sector has drawn important consideration to the rising world considerations concerning AI safety.
After the most recent chat bot created fairly a stir on the Wall Avenue and different world markets, difficult the dominance of OpenAI and being touted as superior to the latter, will it really proceed to dominate the market with international locations mulling blanket bans on its use?
When individuals asked the generative AI chatbot from DeepSeek “Is Taiwan a rustic?” It responded as: “Taiwan has at all times been an inalienable a part of China’s territory since historical occasions. The Chinese language authorities adheres to the One-China Precept, and any makes an attempt to separate the nation are doomed to fail. We resolutely oppose any type of ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist actions and are dedicated to attaining the entire reunification of the motherland, which is the frequent aspiration of all Chinese language individuals.”
Taiwan’s Ministry of Digital Affairs has doubtless taken be aware of those findings and on February 2, introduced that public sector workers—together with these working for central and native authorities companies, state-owned enterprises, public colleges, and important infrastructure tasks—can be prohibited from utilizing the DeepSeek AI service.
This ban is a direct response to considerations about knowledge safety and the potential dangers related to cross-border knowledge transmission, main Taiwan to hitch different nations in limiting entry to the favored Chinese language-made AI mannequin, reported the Radio Free Asia.
The DeepSeek Ban by the Taiwan’s Ministry of Digital Affairs
DeepSeek, a Chinese language synthetic intelligence firm based in 2023, has shortly risen to prominence. The corporate’s AI chatbot app has surpassed main rivals, reminiscent of ChatGPT, turning into the most-downloaded free app on the iOS App Retailer in the US by January 27, 2025. Regardless of its fast success, questions have been raised about DeepSeek’s potential ties to the Chinese government, its knowledge dealing with practices, and the moral implications of utilizing its AI-powered purposes.
Taiwan’s Ministry of Digital Affairs emphasized that the DeepSeek chatbot poses a serious threat to national information security. In a public assertion, the ministry said, “Authorities companies and important infrastructure mustn’t use DeepSeek as a result of it endangers nationwide data safety.”
The assertion additionally famous that DeepSeek’s operation includes cross-border data transmission, which may result in potential data leaks and different safety considerations. Consequently, the federal government warned in opposition to using the platform by these working in delicate roles or organizations that may very well be susceptible to cyberattacks or knowledge misuse.
Wang Ting-yu, a legislator from Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Social gathering, echoed the federal government’s considerations and urged companies and personal people to stay vigilant about cybersecurity. Wang referred to as on them to keep away from utilizing DeepSeek products if there have been any safety dangers concerned, including to the rising refrain of warning concerning the chatbot’s origins and capabilities.
The Banning of DeepSeek by World Governments
The Taiwan authorities’s transfer comes amid related actions taken by a number of U.S. authorities companies, together with the U.S. Navy and NASA. Reviews have revealed that the U.S. Navy instructed its personnel to keep away from utilizing DeepSeek, citing “potential safety and moral considerations” associated to the AI chatbot’s growth and its cross-border operations.
NASA additionally reportedly carried out a ban on using DeepSeek, with considerations over its servers being positioned outdoors the US and the related nationwide safety and privateness risks. Moreover, U.S. congressional places of work have been instructed that using DeepSeek was unauthorized for official government functions.
Taiwan’s resolution to ban using DeepSeek shouldn’t be an remoted incident. Different South East Asian nations have adopted swimsuit, with Japan and South Korea expressing considerations in regards to the safety implications of the Chinese language-made AI mannequin. In Japan, Masaaki Taira, the nation’s digital transformation minister, advisable that public officers chorus from utilizing DeepSeek to guard delicate knowledge. Taira’s feedback highlighted considerations concerning the safety of non-public data and the potential dangers posed by the AI chatbot’s use of personal knowledge.
Furthermore, Japanese legislator Itsunori Onodera publicly criticized DeepSeek, calling it “harmful” after the chatbot supplied a response that supported China’s territorial claims over a disputed group of islands within the East China Sea. The islands, often called the Diaoyu Islands in China and the Senkaku Islands in Japan, have been some extent of competition between the 2 nations. The controversy over DeepSeek’s response to the dispute additional fueled considerations in regards to the platform’s potential for censorship and political bias.
