DeepSeek’s Popularity
DeepSeek AI has exploded in popularity in the past few weeks. Its mobile app has gained 1.6 million downloads, leading app store charts in countless countries, and raising concerns for US artificial intelligence. Why? Analysis has shown that this AI is trained more efficiently compared to current models like ChatGPT and other machine-learning platforms.
DeepSeek was founded in 2023 by Liang Wenfeng, a Chinese entrepreneur and businessman. The company rose to fame recently after various benchmarks showed that its recent V3 Model outperformed many of the more known US AI’s while simultaneously being taught and developed at a much lower cost. DeepSeek developers claim it took about $5.6 million to train their latest version of AI. This still seems like a considerable about of money, until it is compared to US models and their costs. The latest version of Chat GPT cost $78 million to train. Similarly, Google’s latest Gemini model cost $191 million.
Interestingly, the lower cost has not affected the performance of the AI. DeepSeek tends to provide more detailed, in-depth responses compared to ChatGPT. If you ask DeepSeek a question, it may go beyond a simple answer. It may provide background information, suggestions, and offer next steps, which can be especially useful for users who need more detailed insights.
Concerns for DeepSeek
The fact that DeepSeek is built on smaller costs challenges the ongoing belief that running AI models requires immense amounts of computing power and money. The cost of DeepSeek compared to the billions that American AI uses is modest. DeepSeek’s recent advancement and its effective pricing could lead to a decline in market share and pricing of American AI.
Additionally, according to DeepSeek’s privacy policy, the service collects a significant amount of user data. This data includes search history, device type, IP addresses, Wi-Fi, and activity on other apps. The information collected usually goes to different AI vendors, and they can use that information to profile users and attempt to influence or advertise to them. The main concern with DeepSeek, and AI in general, is that users do not know how their data is managed.
Questions about AI’s future will continue to surface, regardless of the type of AI or where it was created. One thing is certain: DeepSeek is a name we will all hear more about.
