DeepSeek: the new kid in town

Woo hoo, everybody talking about the new kid in town
There’s a new kid in town…I don’t wanna to hear it
There’s a new kid in town

“New Kid in Town” by the Eagles

This has been a wild week:

• The government froze federal funding without warning causing some to freak out
• A plane and a helicopter had a collision over DC on Wednesday, January 29
• Tonight a plane crashed in northeast Philly (January 31)
• DeepSeek made a splashy appearance, causing the stock market to swoon on Monday January 27.

What’s DeepSeek?

For those who haven’t been watching the news, a small Chinese lab funded by a hedge fund, has announced its generative AI named DeepSeek. The shocker is DeepSeek’s capability is on par with the best generative AI in the US.

DeepSeek has AI executives worried.

Here’s a list of its qualities that has everyone chattering:

• The model was trained in just a few months (one article said 2 months).
• The training costs was just a shy of $6 million rather than hundreds of millions or even billions.
• It is claimed to be more energy efficient.
• The equipment used was not top of the line equipment. US export restriction of high technology to China forced the Chinese lab to use regular hardware and chips.
• ChatGPT charges its best version $200/month which I think is on top of the $20/month.
• The lab is offering DeepSeek on the Apple app store for free.

No wonder tech executives are freaking out.

Consternation arising from DeepSeek’s achievement

In light of DeepSeek’s achievement, especially in terms of cost, investors are questioning the huge investment previously made. Just last week, the government announced a new private joint venture called the Stargate Project that will invest $500 billion to build 20 data centers.

The other concern not mentioned is AI technology is now much more available due to the low costs for development. Huge tech companies with large pocketbooks no longer have a hold on the technology. Smaller companies can compete using cheaper equipment and open source technology.

That also means AI automation develops faster with impact on human jobs. Job market churn will accelerate.

Does it mean that China has the edge? I don’t know, but the development out of China is well worth watching. This domain looks like it will be heating up faster.

Us poor humans are in for a wild ride.

Updates: DeepSeek’s security weaknesses

I forgot to mention security concerns. Lately, I’ve seen articles saying that DeepSeek 100% fails security tests.

Here are some things I know about DeepSeek’s security:

• Most importantly, your data goes back to China’s servers.
• Your data goes back to China.
• Your data goes back to China
• You provide personal data when you sign up.

Now, there is supposedly a way to download the DeepSeek app so that it resides on your computer and never goes to China. I would have to do more research before I ever get comfortable with the idea of using their model.

In addition, I’m reading that Congress are thinking of making it illegal to use DeepSeek. I’m not sure how firm that information is.

Yeah, we’re in for a wild ride for sure.