DeepSeek Accused of Data Theft from OpenAI
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By Kima A. profile image Kima A.
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DeepSeek Accused of Data Theft from OpenAI

DeepSeek, a Chinese startup, is accused of stealing data from OpenAI to train its models. This has triggered reactions in the world of artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency, with significant impacts on stocks and the cryptocurrency market.

Donald Trump's appointed 'czar' in the AI and cryptocurrency industry, David Sacks, announced that there is significant evidence that startup DeepSeek used data from OpenAI models. He likened this situation to theft.

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According to him, the Chinese company used the answers from the OpenAI models to train its own.

"I don't think OpenAI is very happy about this," Sacks said.

Microsoft and OpenAI have launched an investigation into this matter, as learned by the media.

In the autumn of 2024, Microsoft security experts noticed how people associated with DeepSeek were "draining a lot of data" using the OpenAI API.

The official documentation for using the DeepSeek R1 model in software employs the OpenAI package.

Success of DeepSeek

On the weekend of 25-26 January, the DeepSeek-R1 neural network caused a stir, leading to sales in the stock and cryptocurrency markets. The company's chatbot climbed the charts of free apps in the US App Store, surpassing even ChatGPT, among others.

The reason is that it offers superior performance at a much lower cost than US models. The CEO of OpenAI, Sam Altman, responded to the emergence of a competitor by calling the DeepSeek-R1 neural network 'impressive'. At the same time, he promised to surpass the Chinese competitor.

"Of course, we will provide much better models. Also, it is really interesting to have a new competitor! We will release several versions," he added.

Stepan Gershuni noted that DeepSeek is capable of shaking OpenAI's dominance in artificial intelligence.

"This has already happened. But the leaders in AI change about every month. Google will release a model, then Anthropic, then OpenAI, then LLaMA, and now DeepSeek. Their model is not the best today. It is unlikely to remain the leader. I am sure we will have much more competition, much more than other participants. But nothing terrible has happened to the American competitors so far," he said.

Gershuni also agreed on the possibility of OpenAI responding worthily to DeepSeek, as promised by Altman.

"Yes, of course. We will see that more than once. Also, both companies will attract attention many times. Everything has just started,' the expert pointed out. According to him, more competition will lead to a better product on the market.

In AI, this also has a certain political connotation, a certain global dominance. Whether it will be China, the US or a decentralised Internet, is not yet clear,' he believes. Meanwhile, the US Navy has already banned its employees from using DeepSeek's AI technology, CNBC has learned. The reason cited is "potential security and ethical concerns."

At the moment, OpenAI and DeepSeek solutions offer advantages and disadvantages, according to Gershuni. Among ChatGPT's advantages, he cited a more thoughtful product, which includes:

  • a better application;
  • the presence of an advanced voice mode;
  • the work of the AI 'Operator' agent;
  • the online GPT Store.

Among the disadvantages, there is a closed, pay-as-you-go system. DeepSeek is free with open source code. The model can be used locally on one's own device without the Internet.

Impact on the Stock Market

The appearance of DeepSeek raised questions about the feasibility of multi-billion dollar investments in video cards, as the model offered performance comparable to flagship solutions without the use of a large number of expensive chips. Against this backdrop, Nvidia's shares fell 17% during the 27 January trading session.

Online opinions have emerged regarding a possible repeat of the story of Cisco, whose shares, after significant growth, fell sharply against the backdrop of the dot-com crash.

Gershuni believes that Nvidia will not suffer the same fate as Cisco. After a double-digit drop, the chip maker's value rose 9% during the 28 January trading session.

By Kima A. profile image Kima A.
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