(CLO) DeepSeek, the Chinese artificial intelligence chatbot that went viral worldwide last month, has been banned from Australian Government computers and mobile devices.
ChatGPT's rival was the most downloaded app on Apple's app store earlier last week after it made headlines for skimming billions of dollars from Wall Street.
Under the Australian Government's new ban, all government agencies, except professional organisations such as Australia Post and the ABC, will be forced to remove all DeepSeek products from their equipment with immediate effect.
They will also have to block access to DeepSeek products and report back to the government when they are done. Employees will still be able to use the program on their personal devices.
DeepSeek, Chinese version. (Photo: RNZ)
The decision was made following advice from national security and intelligence agencies, which determined the platform posed an “unacceptable risk to Australian Government technology,” according to the Australian Government.
The social media app TikTok was banned from government devices in 2023, citing similar concerns about security and the potential for it to be used for foreign interference. TikTok is also owned by a Chinese company, Byte Dance.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said on Tuesday the government was "not biased towards any one country" when making decisions like this, but instead "focused on the risk to the Australian Government and our assets".
“AI is a technology full of potential and opportunity, but the Government will not hesitate to act when our agencies identify risks to national security,” he said.
The announcement comes after similar moves by Italy, Texas and parts of the US military.
DeepSeek was founded by 40-year-old entrepreneur Liang Wenfeng in 2023 and released its first major language model the same year.
It has attracted global attention in part because of claims that the model is much cheaper and requires less computing power to create than other AI products, turning the tech industry upside down.
Science Minister Ed Husic was among the first Western leaders to warn that there were “unanswered questions” about the platform’s data and privacy practices late last month.
The Australian government's special envoy for cyber security, Andrew Charlton, said the software raised "serious concerns about data security and potential vulnerabilities in government systems".
Hoang Anh (according to ABC News)
Source: https://www.congluan.vn/deepseek-bi-cam-tren-cac-thiet-bi-cua-chinh-phu-uc-post332955.html
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