Is Deepseek Holding Their Employee Passports to Block Data Breaches?

DeepSeek’s key technology leaking, DeepSeek order, AI engineers can’t leave China

Synopsis:

DeepSeek is a fast-rising AI company from China that has caught global attention for creating powerful AI tools at a fraction of the cost compared to big tech companies. But now, the Chinese government is keeping a very close watch on DeepSeek, calling it a "national treasure." 

• In a bid to protect its technology from leaking, China has stopped some of DeepSeek’s key employees, especially the AI creators, from leaving the country. 

• The matter has raised concerns about workers' rights and freedoms, and also big worries about how AI from China might affect global security.

• DeepSeek has ordered its top AI engineers to hand over their passports, so they cannot leave China, due to fears of key technology leaking abroad

• The Chinese government sees DeepSeek as a valuable asset and is increasing control over who can invest in it.

• Other countries, like India and the US, are cautious about Chinese AI tools. Some governments have even banned their employees from using them on official devices.

• DeepSeek claims its AI systems can rival top products from major US companies like OpenAI, Apple, and Microsoft.

 Why DeepSeek Employees Can’t Leave China

 DeepSeek is a company in China that makes smart AI (artificial intelligence) models. These models are very good and don’t cost too much to make. Because of this, DeepSeek has become very famous around the world.

 But now, the Chinese government is watching DeepSeek very closely. They are worried that key secrets about the company’s AI might be shared with other countries. So, DeepSeek has told some of its top workers that they are not allowed to leave China.

Some workers from DeepSeek, especially those who create and build the AI, had to give their passports to DeepSeek’s parent company, High-Flyer. This means they can’t travel to other countries. The government wants to make sure that no important information or secrets about AI models are leaked.

The Chinese government has also told many AI experts in the country not to visit the United States. They are scared that if people travel, they might accidentally or purposely share business secrets.

DeepSeek has become very important to China. The government has even called it a “national treasure.” Now, the government has more power over who can invest in the company.

DeepSeek is seen as a strong competitor to the United States in AI technology. But stopping people from leaving China has made some people worried about the rights and freedoms of the workers.

 

Why is everyone watching DeepSeek?

 

DeepSeek’s new AI chatbot is being closely checked by many countries. Some worry that it could be used to spread false information or hurt online safety.

For example, India’s finance ministry told its workers not to use AI tools like DeepSeek or ChatGPT on their work computers, because it could put secret information at risk.

In the US, there are already rules that stop Chinese AI companies from doing certain things, for national security reasons. The European Union is also thinking about making tougher rules on AI from other countries.

About DeepSeek:

DeepSeek was started in May 2023 by Liang Wenfeng in Hangzhou, China. Liang also started High-Flyer, a hedge fund, in 2015. When DeepSeek began, it used 50,000 special computer chips called Nvidia A100s. The US has now banned these chips from being sent to China.

DeepSeek has created several smart AI tools. In November 2023, it launched the DeepSeek Coder. Then in May 2024, it released DeepSeek LLM and DeepSeek V-2. Its newest models, R1 and V-3, have surprised many people around the world because they work well and don’t cost much to make.

DeepSeek says it only spent about $6 million (about Rs 51 crore) on its latest AI model. That is much less than what big companies like Apple or Microsoft usually spend on AI.

The company says its AI can do math, coding, and understand language very well. It even says it can compete with the most advanced AI models made by big US companies like OpenAI.