"I'm not buying what DeepSeek is selling."
Imagine, you are in a deep sleep and someone splashes a bucket of water on your face. How would you feel? You would lose your mind and ability to think for a while. You could not process what happened. The same thing that happened to the USA with the launch of DeepSeek AI. Artificial Intelligence makes life so easy. But who knew that AI will soon disrupt the global economy. When the USA launched ChatGpt, everyone went crazy about it and made it a part of their daily work. We were using it all the time for every small little work and at the same time we feared AI was going to take our job. But irony happened, and ChatGpt was on the edge of getting replaced by DeepSeek. Now, ChatGpt feels the same fear which we felt. The launch of DeepSeek is proof that stockbrokers fear smart algorithms.
What is DeepSeek AI ?
You all must be familiar with ChatGpt and DeepSeek is nothing but a cheaper and better version of ChatGpt launched by China. It is an AI technology based in Hangzhou city. It has launched its state of the art AI reasoning model “DeepSeek R1”. To make its model appealing, it has launched 6 compact models as well. DeepSeek is making headlines because it claims that only $6 million was spent to make this model. It provides a complete free experience for users for which ChatGpt premium costs $20 per month.
The Brains Behind DeepSeek
In the year 2023, a Chinese entrepreneur and businessman Liang Wenfeng founded DeepSeek. Before 2023, he was in companies that used AI to predict the stock market and help make good investments. The media reports says that in 2021, Liang started buying thousands of GPUs or graphics processor units from US chipmaker Nvidia. The financial report states that he was buying those chips for his AI project. China bought 10,000 Nvidia A100 GPUs before the USA banned it from exporting. They paired these chips with less powerful ones and developed its AI. Basically, China used the US to disrupt the US. A great move by China shattered the USA’s ego and economy in a night.
Also in May 2023, Liang stated that he was moving towards making Artificial General Intelligence.
A X user ZeroEdge asked ChatGpt and DeepSeek to implement a rotating triangle with a red ball in it. The result showed that DeepSeek has more accuracy.
How DeepSeek Broke Wall Street’s Monopoly ?
DeepSeek’s low cost and high performing technology sent shockwaves through Wall Street. It erased $1 trillion from Nasdaq's market value and shattered America’s dominance in AI. After DeepSeek's announcement, Wall Street felt the shockwaves, with the Nasdaq Composite dropping by 3.1%. Nvidia is the heart of the technology industry. There is no better company that makes highly advanced chips. All the tech giants buy chips from Nvidia. Nvidia and Broadcom took a hit, with their stock prices tumbling by 17%. Nvidia, in particular, was hit hard, losing around $600 billion in market value in a single day—marking the largest one-day loss ever recorded in U.S. history.
DeepSeek did not only shake the stock market but also forced it to re-evaluate how AI is developed and monetized. And the worst part is that China used Nvidia’s cheaper chips to develop its AI model. Wall Street was numb and broken and was just watching its stock go down and down.
Why Deepseek Leads the pack ?
The Wall Street breaker AI model has some neat and unique tricks right up its sleeve that made its leading competitor awe in surprise. Chat bots including Chat-GPT, Gemini were performing under conventional ways to Generative responses and Neural networks. The trendsetter Model, Deepseek articulates its reasoning before delivering a response to a prompt. Deepseek outsmarts its competitors in various segments. That is, it's ability to provide niche focused solutions, like, Fintech risk models, healthcare etc. And the fun part is that they have granted licences for individuals who are interested in developing their own chatbots using this technology.
Now, Why is it soo popular than its counterpart ? The answer’s simple :
IT’S FREE ! Yes, the competitive R1 model that is as efficient as Open AI’s o1 model is Free and Open-sourced to the whole world. Because of its
state-of-the -art features, Reliable information and sources, and the friendly UI makes it the best choice for anyone to take up the platform.
Deepseek v/s Who ?
While the emergeance of Deepseek is a testimony that AI development can be done with low resources efficiently, It’s a backlash for its U.S counterparts, namely, Open AI, IBM Watson, Google Bard. All of these companies spent Millions of Dollars on AI development with high-end Technologies. It’s Ironic that even after the U.S stopped exporting world-class GPU’s and other technologies to China to slow their AI development, They rose to the Top. Now, It raises the question, What could have China done, if given the right amount of resources and technologies ? This doesn’t mean that the U.S models aren’t good anymore. Actually, There are still areas where Deepseek is behind them. Which is, Creativity. ChatGPT and Gemini are at their best in creative writing. For eg : If you ask a prompt to write a poem in Shakespearean Style in both ChatGPT and Deepseek, You will get the best in ChatGPT. So, It remains your freedom to choose what is best for you.
A Roadmap for India's AI Aspirations
DeepSeek is a wakeup call for India. It’s high time now for India to prove that it is capable enough to compete with America’s and China’s tech giants. India should now learn from China and not let the western world dominate the AI world.
China has proved to the world that best outcomes do not require huge investment. Products are great when it takes minimum cost to build with 100% effectiveness. India is very capable to do the same. It just needs proper allocation of resources to build its own efficient AI model.
The Indian government should pay attention to the policies and strategies that have driven China's AI growth and consider adopting similar approaches. It should start with investing in research and development, support AI startups, educate students about AI, and promote AI culture. China completed its project in just 2 years and with India’s advanced technical knowledge and endless talent there is no reason why India can’t do it.
It is time for India to prove itself not just in technology, but also in power. We can not rely on other countries for such crucial things. It is important for India to mark its presence and play a vital role in the world of AI. It’s never too late to start.
Is DeepSeek a Friend or a Foe?
The emergence of DeekSeek raised concern in the globe if it's a friend or a foe. For America it is definitely a foe as we mentioned above how it broke the USA's economy in a night. But for the rest of the world and especially for India, it is a huge inspiration to play the AI revolution on front foot.
One one hand, DeepSeek is a smart algorithm that provides access to advanced versions for which we had to pay in ChatGpt. It is a revolutionary product which is going to prove itself helpful for people and according to the statistics DeepSeek is estimated to have around 5-6 million users globally. It can be seen as an ally to the users and enhance their productivity and open new doors for innovation.
On the flip side, DeepSeek’s rise comes with its own set of challenges. With so much power, there is an actual danger of disruption. Its influence could shake up traditional industries, creating a mix of winners and losers. Along with this, there are genuine concerns about job losses, privacy issues, and the ethical dilemmas that come with AI. DeepSeek’s potential to outrun existing systems may pose unforeseen challenges, causing it to appear like a menace to those who could find it hard to catch up or get left behind.
"I'm not buying what DeepSeek is selling." said Elon Musk, but it looks like they have to buy what China is selling and accept the situation. It should take it as a warning that the west does not control the tech world. The east are on their way to disrupt America’s dominance. And to make it happen India has to be prepared to make bold moves.
So, what do you think, is DeepSeek a friend or a foe?
Author: Radhika Agrawal & Sreevarun J S
Illustration: Dhruv Garg
Comments