In a significant move, proposed legislation could render it illegal for Americans to download the Chinese AI application DeepSeek.
On Monday, Senator Josh Hawley from Missouri introduced a bill aimed at “prohibiting the import from or export to China of artificial intelligence technology.”
While the bill, titled the Decoupling America’s Artificial Intelligence Capabilities from China Act, references DeepSeek, it does not specifically identify the company. Instead, the legislation broadly addresses the need to protect U.S. intellectual property and prevent adversaries from deploying technology that could compromise national security.
“America cannot afford to empower our greatest adversary at the expense of our own strength. Ensuring American economic superiority means cutting China off from American ingenuity and halting the subsidization of CCP innovation,” Hawley stated, highlighting “international concern” regarding the implications of DeepSeek’s R1 model launch.
The introduction of the R1 model has already impacted tech stocks and raised alarms within the AI sector, as its large language model was reportedly developed at a fraction of the cost of competitors like GPT-4, presenting a competitive threat to the U.S. AI market. There have also been claims that DeepSeek utilized data from other companies, pointing to an ironic twist in the ongoing debate over AI development practices.
Beyond competitive concerns, DeepSeek raises critical ethical and privacy issues. Users of R1 have reported experiences of censorship, particularly regarding sensitive topics such as Tiananmen Square and Uyghur oppression. Additionally, DeepSeek’s privacy policy reveals extensive data collection practices with storage on Chinese servers, creating potential vulnerabilities for user data.
These surveillance and data privacy implications invoke memories of the TikTok ban, enacted for similar reasons. However, Hawley’s proposed legislation takes a more aggressive stance by criminalizing the act of downloading DeepSeek, with potential penalties including a $1 million fine and prison time of up to 20 years, in accordance with the Export Control Reform Act of 2018.
The legislation not only seeks to prohibit the import and export of Chinese AI technology but also aims to prevent American companies from conducting AI research in China or collaborating with Chinese firms, as well as banning U.S. investments in Chinese AI ventures.
The broad language of the bill may be an attempt to close loopholes that allowed DeepSeek’s rapid development, which was possible due to restrictions on Nvidia GPUs for China, forcing the company to utilize less powerful or potentially smuggled chips.
Despite the intent behind the bill, some commentators have expressed concerns that it may hinder open-source AI development in the U.S. and inadvertently drive Chinese companies to innovate alternative technologies.
Topics
Artificial Intelligence
DeepSeek
