Chinese startup AI tool DeepSeek surpasses ChatGPT as the most downloaded app
NEW YORK (CBS, KYMA/KECY) - A Chinese startup called DeepSeek has created an AI model at a much lower cost than the U.S. competition.
It's AI assistant was, as of Monday, Apple's most downloaded app, surpassing the AI app ChatGPT and Threads, a social media app.
California-based Nvidia, which makes the chips that power AI, lost nearly $600 billion in market value, the biggest one day loss by a company ever.
AI will be a growing part of our daily lives, in medicine, transportation, education and beyond.
It's being called a "Sputnik moment" for America's AI industry, a reference to the panic in the U.S. when the Soviet Union leaped ahead in the space race in the 1950s.
"Face the Nation" moderator Margaret Brennan was on CBS Evening News Monday night to talk about the app.
"All of this matters because the us and china are in an AI arms race. Former President Biden said AI is perhaps the most consequential technology of all time, and poses profound risks," Brennan expressed. "That's why this technological leap made by China's DeepSeek using inferior computer chips at a cost 20-30 times less than leading American firms got the attention of the CEOs."
Brennan said she spoke with investors who say this "could drive urgency among companies to innovate."
"If the technology is lower cost, then more people may use it," she added.
President Donald Trump's AI czar David Sacks said on Monday that "we can't be complacent."
"The last administration tried to keep America's edge in AI by banning high tech chips from being sold to China. So this news that a Chinese firm claims they did this with basic computer chips raises national security concerns," Brennan shared.
When asked what are the national security implications and how does the Trump adminstration intend to respond, Brennan said she spoke with U.S. policymakers "who are always skeptical about believing what any Chinese firm claims because of the tight Communist Party control of private industry."
"They're not convinced DeepSeek is honest when claiming they achieved a breakthrough all on their own," Brennan added.
But in terms of risk, Brennan said she spoke to a CEO who joked that "DeepSeek makes TikTok look like Sesame Street."
"The U.S. is trying to ban [TikTok] because of evidence that its owner can and will siphon up information about Americans and also use it to control and shape information they consume. DeepSeek may do the same in the AI space. At this hour, millions of americans have downloaded it onto their devices. Keep in mind that Chinese law requires companies to assist in intelligence gathering if requested by the government," Brennan stated.
