U.S. Military service members have been warned not to use the Chinese artificial intelligence program DeepSeek over its potential security risks and ethical concerns. CBS News national security contributor Sam Vinograd has the details.

The release of Open AI's ChatGPT has accelerated the development of artificial intelligence and warnings about its impact on society.

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U.S. military personnel have been advised against using the Chinese artificial intelligence program, DeepSeek, due to potential security risks and ethical concerns. DeepSeek, which debuted in December, quickly became the most downloaded free application in Apple's U.S. App Store, surpassing OpenAI's Chat GPT. The application has prompted fears within the tech industry that China could impede American advancements in artificial intelligence, leading to a drop in tech stocks. 

DeepSeek was also recently subjected to a cyberattack, causing the company to temporarily limit user registrations. The AI program, developed at a cost of approximately $6 million, significantly undercuts the financial investments seen in American AI technologies. According to CBS News national security contributor Sam Vinograd, this development aligns with China's ongoing strategic goals of becoming a global science and technology powerhouse, a trajectory reinforced by significant state and corporate investments in AI.

There are concerns about the ability of the Chinese government to manipulate information through DeepSeek to influence American users, similar to how some users perceive TikTok's operations. DeepSeek's infrastructure, which has numerous servers based in China, potentially gives the Chinese government access to user data and facilitates influence operations that align with the objectives of the Chinese Communist Party. The app's privacy policy allows access to personal user data by its corporate group and public authorities. 

The rise of DeepSeek has prompted discussions about the broader geopolitical tech competition between the U.S. and China. The emergence of DeepSeek is seen as a significant development, potentially providing China with strategic advantages in technology, military, intelligence, and economic sectors. The app's rapid uptake among American users has underscored the critical importance of maintaining U.S. leadership in AI technologies.



U.S. military prohibited from using Chinese AI DeepSeek

U.S. service members have been warned not to use Chinese artificial intelligence program DeepSeek over its potential security risks and ethical concerns. The technology made its public debut in December. Its high-performing AI model cost about $6 million to develop compared to the billions of dollars invested in American artificial intelligence. On Monday, DeepSeek's chatbot became the most downloaded free application in Apple's U.S. App Store, unseating OpenAI's chat GPT. In response, tech stocks plummeted over fears that China could infringe on American AI progress. DeepSeek was also targeted by a cyberattack on Monday, prompting the company to temporarily limit user registration. Joining us now is CBS News national security contributor Sam Vinograd. So, Sam, on the evening news Monday night, Face the Nation moderator Margaret Brennan said a tech CEO told her that DeepSeek makes TikTok look like Sesame Street. I mean, that was a quote I remember. What does that mean? And what national security threats could this technology pose compared to TikTok? Well, Lindsey, it's worth noting that this announcement about China's progress in artificial intelligence doesn't really come as a huge surprise to many of us that closely watch the intelligence community assessments. Just last year, the director of national intelligence indicated that China sought to become a global science and technology superpower, and that they were prioritizing innovation, self-reliance and key industries like artificial intelligence. They also noted that just one state-owned enterprise intended to invest $13.7 billion in artificial intelligence. So this development is not surprising based upon China's own political, economic and military objectives. If we want to compare TikTok and DeepSeek, we're somewhat mixing apples and oranges. Both of these companies have servers in China. DeepSeek has far more servers in China than TikTok does. All of those servers are accessible to the Chinese government. And both companies do pose very specific data privacy risks. But if we look at DeepSeek, the ability of the Chinese government to engage in influence operations against Americans via DeepSeek drastically overwhelms the risk of that happening over TikTok, just based upon the fact that DeepSeek is spitting back information that can be manipulated to Americans. Can you give us some examples of that? And also, can we trust what DeepSeek is saying on how it's able to do this essentially on the cheap? Well, from a cost perspective, I wouldn't take everything that the Chinese Communist Party says at face value. The CCP undoubtedly has close ties to the hedge fund founder and the individual behind DeepSeek just by virtue of how the Chinese economy is structured. And oftentimes, the Chinese government certainly does not accurately represent quantitative figures related to its investments, its economy, and more. It does appear, however, that even if those figures are manipulated, that this was done far more cheaply than the United States, which raises another national security risk, which is just a misconception about U.S. tech dominance and what resources are required to win the global superpower race when it comes to technology. Now, to your first question on how DeepSeek could do this, as individuals are inputting search queries into DeepSeek, DeepSeek should be responding with accurate and factual information. But there are certainly ways that DeepSeek could manipulate the information that's coming back to users to try to push messages that are more friendly to the Chinese Communist Party's objectives. We also know that certain search queries are not available on DeepSeek based upon Chinese Communist Party objectives and intentions. So there's a censorship angle as well as potential propaganda and influence operation angle as well, not to mention the fact that DeepSeek's own privacy policy very clearly states that user data, personal information, is accessible to DeepSeek's corporate group as well as law enforcement and other public sector officials and authorities. So President Trump said Monday that DeepSeek should be a wake up call for American tech companies. Why? Why is it so important for the U.S. to stay ahead in this AI competition with China? Well, China uses any technology and economic edge to try to outpace the United States, not just in the technology arena, but in the broader geopolitical competition that we have underway right now. Advances in artificial intelligence are not just a win for technology. They are a win for China's military complex, its intelligence complex, and of course, its economy. So overall, artificial intelligence is a force multiplier for the domestic national security goals and geopolitical goals that China is seeking to achieve. And because of the strategic competition between the two countries would allow China sensibly to start outpacing the United States in certain areas. And then, as I mentioned, I do think that this could present an opportunity for potential influence operations by the Chinese Communist Party via this app, not to mention potentially cyber espionage and cyber attacks based upon the fact that I think this app is the most downloaded app on various platforms. The first day it was rolled out, the first couple of days. So that could be a backdoor to millions of Americans' own broader activities and broader data. Sam Vinograd, thank you so much for joining us.

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