The U.S. Navy has advised its personnel to refrain from utilizing DeepSeek's newly released AI model, R1, citing "potential security and ethical concerns." The directive, issued on Friday via an email to "shipmates" on the OpNav distribution list, prohibits the use of DeepSeek's AI in any capacity, including both professional and personal contexts. This warning follows an advisory from the Naval Air Warfare Center Division Cyber Workforce Manager, emphasizing the importance of withholding from using the AI technology.
DeepSeek's R1 model represents a significant advancement in AI reasoning capabilities, rivaling technologies developed by industry leaders like OpenAI. Its open-source nature allows any AI developer to access and integrate it into their own systems. Despite its technological prowess and rapid ascent to the top of Apple's App Store, the U.S. Navy's cautionary stance underscores a proactive approach towards safeguarding sensitive information and ethical standards.
"We would like to bring to your attention a critical update regarding a new AI model called DeepSeek," stated the Navy's warning email, highlighting the urgency of the situation.
The email further stressed the necessity for team members to avoid engaging with DeepSeek's AI, emphasizing it was "imperative" not to use it "for any work-related tasks or personal use." The advisory explicitly instructed personnel to "refrain from downloading, installing, or using the DeepSeek model in any capacity."
DeepSeek's recent release has been lauded for its groundbreaking advancements. Alexandr Wang, CEO of Scale AI, described the R1 model as "earth-shattering," noting its superiority over previous iterations. Notably, DeepSeek achieved this milestone in just two months with a budget under $6 million, despite global challenges such as the U.S.'s three-time curbing of chip exports to China over three years.
The emergence of DeepSeek has not gone unnoticed at the highest levels of government. President Donald Trump expressed his concerns regarding the rapid development of DeepSeek's technology, describing it as a "wake-up call" for America's tech companies. In response, his administration has announced a joint venture named Stargate, aimed at investing billions in AI infrastructure within the United States.
President Trump emphasized that DeepSeek's rise "should be a wake-up call" for America's tech companies.
David Sacks, serving as Trump's AI and crypto czar, commented on the situation, stating that DeepSeek's progress "shows that the AI race will be very competitive."
While DeepSeek's technology faces scrutiny from military and government entities, the company temporarily limited user registrations due to large-scale malicious attacks on its services. However, operations have since returned to normalcy, continuing to attract attention from developers and users alike.