DeepSeek is no game: The dangers of China’s new AI

In just one week, DeepSeek, China’s new artificial intelligence app, has surpassed one million downloads (more than half in just two days) and it is expected to multiply that figure, according to AppBrain based on data from QR Code Generator. But this technological frenzy has its consequences. Several researchers warn that its use is not harmless, that the servers are in a country operating outside of data protection laws and that, as Ross Burley, co-founder of the Centre for Information Resilience (CIR), warns, “this technology, if left unchecked, has the potential to fuel disinformation campaigns, erode public trust and entrench authoritarian narratives within our democracies.”

There is an economic component to the emergence of AI in China, where DeepSeek has been joined by Qwen 2.5, a generative AI large language model by the retail giant Alibaba (owner of AliExpress). The adoption of AI will have a cumulative economic impact worldwide of $19.9 trillion by 2030, when this technology will steer 3.5% of global GDP, according to the report The global impact of artificial intelligence on the economy and jobs by the analysis firm IDC.

In this regard, Marc Porcar, CEO of QR Code Generator, believes that China has shaken up the market with “faster, cheaper and smarter products” to “pave the way for the Asian country in a market that, until now, was mainly dominated by the United States and OpenAI [the firm that created ChatGPT].”

But to think that this is just an economic move is naive, warn several researchers. In fact, notes Deepak Padmanabhan, a senior lecturer at the School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Queen’s University Belfast, DeepSeek “focuses on building foundational technology rather than commercial applications.”

So what is China after? Harin Sellahewa, Professor of Computing and Dean of the School of Computing, Law and Psychology at the University of Buckingham, tells Science Media Centre (SMC): “DeepSeek’s Privacy Policy states they collect user-provided information such as date of birth (where applicable), username, email address and/or telephone number, and password. Moreover, automatically collected data includes keystroke patterns or rhythms, which can be used as a biometric to identify individuals.”

Sellahewa points out that this data is also collected by other AI applications, but adds: “The concern is not necessarily the collection of user-provided or the automatically collected data per se, because other Generative AI applications collect similar data. It’s DeepSeek’s legal and obligations and rights, which includes the requirement to ‘comply with applicable law, legal process or government requests, as consistent with internationally recognised standards.’” Because the information collected by DeepSeek is stored on servers located in the People’s Republic of China, users’ personal data may not be protected by the laws of Western countries.

Thinking along the same lines, Lukasz Piwek, Senior Lecturer in Data Science at the University of Bath, adds to SMC: “China’s relatively flexible regulatory approach to advanced technology enables rapid innovation but raises concerns about data privacy, potential misuse, and ethical implications, particularly for an open-source model like DeepSeek.”

We should be alarmed. Further integration of Chinese AI technology into Western society is not only a bad idea, it is reckless.

Ross Burley, cofundador de CIR

“We should be alarmed,” warns Ross Burley, co-founder of the Center for Information Resilience, an independent organization dedicated to exposing human rights violations and threats to democracy. He explains: “For Chinese AI technology to become even more embedded in Western society is not only a bad idea, it is reckless. We have seen time and again how Beijing uses its technological dominance as a weapon for surveillance, control and coercion, both at home and abroad. Whether through spyware-laden devices, state-sponsored cyber campaigns or the misuse of AI to suppress dissent, China’s track record shows that its technology is an extension of its geopolitical strategy. This might seem like benign big-speak, but we have already seen AI suppress information critical of the Chinese government.”

“Allowing Chinese AI to flourish in the West doesn’t just risk undermining privacy or security; it could fundamentally reshape our societies in ways we are not prepared for. We need safeguards, accountability, and a clear understanding that not all technological advances serve the common good, especially when they originate in a regime that prioritizes control over freedom,” Burley concludes.

They will have profiles and even more complete information about us that could end up in the US or China. Control can be exercised like never before in history

Rafael Rodríguez Prieto, Chair of Philosophy of Law at Pablo de Olavide University

Rafael Rodríguez Prieto, Chair of Philosophy of Law at Pablo de Olavide University in Seville, Spain and co-author of Poder e internet. Un Análisis crítica de la red (or Power and the internet. A critical analysis of the world wide web), shares the same opinion. He warns about the potential to control citizens thanks to the data collected by artificial intelligence, regardless of its origin: “They will have profiles and even more complete information about us that could end up in the USA or in China. Control can be exercised like never before in history. What happened on Monday 27th in the stock markets transcends the pages of economics to become one of the most notable geopolitical events of our time.”

Rodríguez Prieto points out that DeepSeek has been configured with open source code, which allows for greater transparency, efficiency in detecting errors and greater agility in improvements. But he warns: “This model is not free of risks. With closed source, companies exercise complete control and avoid possible damage, while benefiting from stable financing, as is the case with American companies.”

But the greatest harm falls mainly on users, those who have rushed to frantically download the new application in search of a quick and cheap solution. “The common good and the citizens’ bests interests have been left behind by the hegemony of a capitalist perspective, globally shared from West to East, which [...] turns human needs into a commercial product that must be made profitable. The huge amount of surplus value on the world wide web extracted from our data and free work is the engine of this change. And AI is no exception.”

This warning is added to that of Cecilia Danesi, co-director of the Master’s Degree in Ethical Governance of AI at the Pontifical University of Salamanca and author of the 2024 analysys Consumer Rights at the Crossroads of Artificial Intelligence. This researcher, a member of UNESCO’s Women for Ethical AI group and co-author of a report presented at the G20 summit in Brazil on algorithmic audits, warns about the lack of consumer protection against the damage that technological progress can cause. She also calls for greater legal attention to the civil liability of AI: “Consumers are extremely exposed to the damage that can be caused. If we do not have clear rules on how to proceed in the face of such damage, people are left unprotected.”

But not everyone is all doom and gloom about new AI technology and its impact. For Professor Luo Mai of the University of Edinburgh, DeepSeek “provides researchers and students around the world with opportunities to explore new avenues of AI research, particularly in environments with fewer computing resources.”

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