US lawmakers call for investigation into China's DeepSeek over national security concerns

A group of seven Republican senators in the US has requested the Department of Commerce to investigate #DeepSeek , a Chinese company behind the open-source AI model R1, due to serious national security concerns.

The potential threat from open-source AI

In a letter released on Tuesday, the senators, led by Senator Ted Budd, expressed concerns that the R1 model could leak data of US users and support military and intelligence operations of China. They warned that the open-source design of R1, which allows developers to access and modify it, could create security vulnerabilities. #china

The letter also pointed out that R1 has generated harmful content, such as guidance for a media campaign encouraging self-harm among teenagers and instructions for creating biological weapons, indicating shortcomings in safety testing.

Call for action from the government

Lawmakers urged the Department of Commerce to investigate potential security vulnerabilities and data flows that could be directed back to China. They emphasized that ensuring the safety of AI applications is a key factor in the technological competition with China. Although some experts argue that banning could stifle innovation, the senators still stressed that with government systems, applying the precautionary principle is crucial to avoid catastrophic consequences for national security. #anhbacong