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Irish concerns over DeepSeek app

DeepSeek claims its model was developed at a fraction of the cost of current AI tools
DeepSeek claims its model was developed at a fraction of the cost of current AI tools

It operates in a similar way to artificial intelligence (AI) chat bots like ChatGPT, but the Chinese company DeepSeek claims its model was developed at a fraction of the cost of current AI tools.

It has taken the tech world by storm and has become the most downloaded app in countries around the world including here in Ireland.

The US tech giants are spending hundreds of billions of dollars on AI development but DeepSeek says its latest model cost less than $6 million to train.

It has sparked major concerns about American dominance in AI and led to sharp falls in tech stocks yesterday.

If the big US tech firms make heavy losses on their AI investments, it could have implications for Ireland.

"We know that the US tech firms are so important to the Irish ecosystem, with the top seven companies here," said Mark Kelly, Founder of AI Ireland.

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"The chances of this having a ripple effect are very big because they are investing six or seven hundred billion into this tech and if they don't get the outcomes they expect then that will lead to job losses."

"On the flip-side though, entrepreneurs and small to medium enterprises that are looking at this advancement are saying we can take this tech and now compete because DeepSeek has made it open source," Mr Kelly said.

"So now, organisations can take that technology and use it to reimagine their service offering," he added.

Because DeepSeek is Chinese, it has raised cyber security concerns with politicians here urging caution.

Fianna Fáil TD Malcolm Byrne said that Irish citizens and businesses need to be careful if they decide to use the app amid concerns that any data shared with it will be stored on servers based in China.

"If our data is stored in Ireland or other parts of the European Union, there are strong safeguards in place as to how that data will be used. If data is stored in China, those safeguards does not exist."

"The Chinese Communist Party can use its National Security Law to access this data," Mr Byrne said.

"DeepSeek's privacy policy provides that any personal information gathered through using its product may be stored on servers based in China," he added.

There are also concerns about Chinese censorship on DeepSeek.

Questions about Taiwan or Tiananmen Square are likely to be met with a response that the query is beyond its current scope and that it wants to talk about something else.

But the only thing the tech world is talking about right now is DeepSeek.

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