DeepSeek: The Beast From the East and the Decolonisation of AI
We have "test-driven" the Chinese AI chatbot and it measures up to all the rage—Beyond its top-notch performance, DeepSeek is one great technological leveller between the West and the Global South.
A blindsiding. Yes. Because it’s one of these naughty upsets that Silicon Valley didn’t see coming. In what has been dubbed The AI Cold War, America appeared to be dominating the game, head and shoulders.
America has Nvidia, the presumptive tech leader in the field of AI and machine learning. With its advanced graphics processing units, generative AI chips, supercomputers, and all-inclusive algorithms and platforms for AI modelling, Nvidia has been a darling, more so for the stock markets.
And whatever blessing the company’s brought to America, Uncle Sam wanted to limit who could fully benefit from it.
In October 2022, the U.S. Department of Commerce implemented strict export controls to prevent China from obtaining high-end AI chips, as well as other semiconductor technologies with potential military applications.
While the A800 and H800 chips allow Nvidia to continue doing business in China, the company cannot sell its most advanced technology, potentially giving competitors an opportunity to fill the gap. And that’s where the DeepSeek phenomenon comes in.
The new player burst into the world of artificial intelligence only in recent months, hitting the US app stores earlier last week.
It’s now making waves, not only for its technological prowess but also for its potential to further bridge the digital divide between West and South. But what exactly is DeepSeek, and why is it causing such a stir?
Scrappy Upstart
If you must believe one opinion writer for The New York Times, DeepSeek is a new AI chatbot from a "scrappy Chinese upstart". Meaning that it boasts nothing of the glamour associated with NVIDIA-powered platforms.
On paper, it was not supposed to play in the same league as Silicon Valley big whales like OpenAI's ChatGPT or Google's Gemini from the DeepMind project.
DeepSeek was launched in 2023 by a little-known computer engineering graduate, Liang Wenfeng. It is "owned and solely funded" by Chinese hedge fund High-Flyer, based in Hangzhou, Eastern China. As it is, DeepSeek is not open for public trading—you can't buy shares. At least, for now.
Sole ownership. Not impressive. But scrappy? For sure, that's not the best word for a compliment. But it's not necessarily a slight.
It is for shock purpose—the irony of something this wonderful coming from a place of such little resource. Yes, DeepSeek is really peculiar. Worthy of the curiosity, the attention.
Unlike traditional AI systems, it is built with a focus on adaptability and lean cost—affordable, accessible. That makes it a standout in the crowded AI landscape with its lofty pricing tiers.
We've tested it. It's not everything. And DeepSeek is honest about it. Try it with any technical query, and it's a breeze. But it would not indulge you on queries that solicit the usual Western narratives about China. It goes mute on Tiananmen Square, for example. Smart—it won't bite the hand that feeds it.
Not unlike Google's Gemini, which bugs on queries with keywords that trigger its suspicion filters. Even "Kennedy" causes Gemini to clam up. You get this type of selective sensitivity on issues that are taboo to China.
But take DeepSeek down the oceans and it goes with you. Up the mountains, and it obliges. Query it about interstellar space, and it spits out a treat for your enjoyment.
And as I learned, DeepSeek's unique algorithms are tailored to address complex problems whilst soliciting a minimum of resources.
Its capabilities range from predictive analytics and natural language processing to machine learning models that can be customised for local contexts.
This flexibility is not why it's such an upset. Ironically, it's because it does so as effectively as those American AI giants.
But what truly sets it apart is its commitment to localisation. Whether it's analysing agricultural data in Swahili or diagnosing diseases in remote clinics, DeepSeek is engineered to serve the underserved.
This formidable "beast from the east" seems to have arrived with an unstated vengeance—handling inclusivity as never seen before, a strong selling point for the expansive markets of the Global South.
Decolonising AI
No, decolonisation in 2024 isn't about some European colonial power telling some natives in territorial possession that they are now independent.
These days, decolonisation is the process of reclaiming agency and reducing dependency on foreign powers with imperialistic instincts and expectations that you meet them on their own rigid terms. How you think, what you value and abhor, the price you must pay... all must be adjusted for fit.
In the context of AI, this comes mainly in the form of linguistic exclusion. Cultural and perspective, as well. AI therefore threatens to become a great standardisation machine. The user trades away a bit of themselves for access.
And it's in this sense that DeepSeek arrives, leading the charge for the decolonisation of AI. It's just a start, of course. But this is how it's significant.
First, DeepSeek's pricing model is designed to suit the budgets of governments, businesses and individuals in developing countries. This makes it accessible to a broader audience, unlike the high-cost solutions offered by Silicon Valley companies.
Then, you have this better localisation, with algorithms tailored to adapt to local languages, cultures and challenges. DeepSeek does not come to you with the assumption that there's some central worldview, with anything else on satellite.
That will cause fewer users, especially in the Global South, throwing up fits in protest at answers to their queries, notably when it comes to global geopolitics.
And this is not the least: internet connectivity and computing infrastructure in many parts of the Global South are not on the leading edge. DeepSeek was engineered with that in mind and allows for efficient operation even in low-resource environments.
As you see, there's a lot there to explain why the U.S. stock markets have got nervous in the last few days with the rising star of DeepSeek.
DeepSeek, What the Hell?
When on Monday 27 January, news of the new kid on the block reached the Nasdaq, the tech index of Wall Street, it took it down a notch—a 3% fall.
For NVIDIA the darling, things were worse. Its stock price nosedived by 17%, wiping out about $600 billion of the company's value.
As a result, Apple and Microsoft climbed back to the top two tiers of the Nasdaq, leaving NVIDIA in the third slot. NVIDIA was only able to outrank Apple and Microsoft because of the AI craze.
Now, with DeepSeek bursting into the AI world with receipts that great results could be achieved with a little budget, investors caught panic.
Could it be possible that AI companies are over-evaluated? OpenAI, for example, pegged at $157 billion. How could it compete and make profit with all the possible DeepSeeks?
Clearly, the disruptive potential of DeepSeek lies in its ability to democratise AI technology, and that is a threat to the dominance of Silicon Valley's tech giants.
The President, on getting the news about the Chinese bot, spoke of a wake-up call and urged American companies not to sleep at the wheel.
The Nasdaq has now recovered. It would have been just a blip. But the past week brought something deeper: DeepSeek is reshaping market dynamics and creating new opportunities for growth in regions that have historically been underserved by Western tech companies.
The questions it has raised about the sustainability of high-cost AI models will stick around. And volatility will hang there in the market.