WASHINGTON: In her first press briefing on Tuesday, January 28, United States Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt discussed DeepSeek, a Chinese Artificial Intelligence (AI) company known for developing open-source large language models. She shared that U.S. President Donald Trump sees DeepSeek as a wake-up call for the American AI industry.
When asked if Trump had concerns about DeepSeek's origins or costs, and how China's ability to create these models quickly and cheaply might affect U.S. plans to expand AI data centers, Leavitt emphasized that Trump had appointed the first-ever AI czar to secure America's leadership in AI.
Leavitt explained that Trump had addressed the DeepSeek issue during a discussion on Air Force One, saying it highlighted the need for the U.S. to catch up. "The previous administration didn't act, and China has been able to rapidly advance its AI program," she said.
She also mentioned that the National Security Council (NSC) is reviewing potential security risks related to Artificial Intelligence.
"President Trump is focused on restoring America's AI leadership, which is why he signed strong executive orders last week to reduce burdensome regulations on the AI sector. He also appointed David Sacks as the first AI czar, and his team is working hard every day to ensure American dominance," Leavitt added. She confirmed that the NSC is investigating any national security concerns.
When asked if there was a fear that the U.S. was falling behind in the AI race, Leavitt confidently replied, "No, the President believes we will regain American dominance in AI."
Leavitt also stated that Trump signed an order halting U.S. funding of USD37 million to the WHO.
What is DeepSeek?
DeepSeek is an AI research lab that came from Fire-Flyer, a deep-learning division of High-Flyer, a Chinese hedge fund. High-Flyer was founded in 2015 and became well-known for using advanced computing to analyze financial data. In 2023, its founder, Liang Wenfeng, shifted focus to creating DeepSeek, with the goal of developing cutting-edge AI models.
Unlike many Chinese AI firms, DeepSeek is not tied to tech giants like Baidu or Alibaba. Liang started this project out of scientific curiosity rather than for quick financial gains. He noted, “Basic science research rarely offers high returns on investment.”
What is DeepSeek-R1?
DeepSeek-R1 is a powerful AI model that claims to outperform others in several important tasks. The model, along with its variations like DeepSeek-R1-Zero, uses large-scale reinforcement learning (RL) and multi-stage training to build its capabilities.
The company has also taken a big step by open-sourcing not only its flagship model but also six smaller versions, ranging from 1.5 billion to 70 billion parameters. These models are MIT-licensed, which means researchers and developers can freely refine and commercialize them.
