Australia has banned DeepSeek from all government devices. The government says this is because of a security risk from the Chinese AI startup.
DeepSeek surprised everyone in January when it showed a chatbot that worked as well as American chatbots. It also said it cost less money to train the AI. Many stock prices dropped worldwide, including in Australia, where stocks connected to AI fell sharply.
The government says the ban is not because DeepSeek is Chinese, but because it is a risk to national security. The ban means government workers cannot use DeepSeek’s products or apps. They also have to remove any DeepSeek apps from their devices. This affects workers in many areas, like the Australian Electoral Commission and the Bureau of Meteorology.
However, it is not clear if schools will also have to ban DeepSeek. Private citizens can still use it on their devices.
Kieren McCarthy from Oxford Information Labs says this is a new trend for governments when there are security questions. He believes technology must now consider politics more than before.
