DeepSeek AI Startup Faces Major Hacking Incident and Censorship Allegations

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DeepSeek, the Chinese AI startup, is currently facing significant challenges, including a major hacking incident and accusations of censorship. On Monday, DeepSeek announced that it was hit by a large-scale cyberattack, which disrupted the registration process for new users. Existing users can still log in, but new registrations have been temporarily halted. The company has not provided detailed information about the nature of the attack or who might be behind it.

In addition to the hacking incident, DeepSeek has been accused of censoring itself when users ask questions related to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Users have reported that when queried about topics sensitive to the CCP, DeepSeek either provides incomplete answers or avoids answering altogether. This has raised concerns about the model's impartiality and its potential to be influenced by political agendas.

The release of DeepSeek's R1 large language model last week has also stirred the AI community. The model is open-source and significantly cheaper to develop compared to its Western counterparts, which has led to a market reaction and a sell-off in tech stocks. Despite its lower cost, DeepSeek claims that its model performs comparably to more expensive models like OpenAI's ChatGPT in tasks such as math, code, and reasoning.

The incident has prompted discussions about the security and ethical implications of AI models, especially those developed by companies with close ties to governments. The combination of the cyberattack and the alleged censorship has put DeepSeek under intense scrutiny, both within the tech industry and among potential users and investors.