"For any openly available AI model, with a web or app interface - including but not limited to DeepSeek - the prompts, or questions that are asked of the AI, then become available to the makers of that model, as are the answers," said Emily Taylor, chief executive of Oxford Information Labs "So, anyone working on confidential or national security areas needs to be aware of those risks," she told the BBC. Dr Richard Whittle from University of Salford said he had "various concerns about data and privacy" with the app, but said there were "plenty of concerns" with the models used in the US too. "Consumers should always be wary, especially in the hype and fear of missing out on a new, highly popular, app," he said. The UK data regulator, the Information Commissioner's Office has urged the public to be aware of their rights around their information being used to train AI models. Asked by BBC News if it shared the Australian government's concerns, it said in a statement: "Generative AI developers and deployers need to make sure people have meaningful, concise and easily accessible information about the use of their personal data and have clear and effective processes for enabling people to exercise their information rights.

Deepseek's founder Liang Wenfeng is an example of this - the 40-year-old studied AI at the prestigious Zhejiang University. In an article on the tech outlet 36Kr, people familiar with him say he is "more like a geek rather than a boss". And Chinese media describe him as a "technical idealist" - he insists on keeping DeepSeek as an open-source platform. In fact experts also believe a thriving open-source culture has allowed young start-ups to pool resources and advance faster. Unlike bigger Chinese tech firms, DeepSeek prioritised research, which has allowed for more experimenting, according to experts and people who worked at the company.

Obsessed with throwing money and resources at AI in any way they can, the likes of OpenAI, NVIDIA, Google and Amazon all just got a surprise. Out of seemingly nowhere, Chinese AI assistant DeepSeek is suddenly the top-rated free app on Apple's App Store in the US and elsewhere, beating more familiar names, like ChatGPT. The open-source DeepSeek V3 model reportedly requires far less computing power than its competitors and, depending on who you believe, was developed for under 6 million. Shocks all around -- especially for OpenAI and all the billions it has floating around. Focusing on coding and research, DeepSeek's models are similar to other AI assistants you've heard of.

A powerful new open-source artificial intelligence model created by Chinese startup DeepSeek has shaken Silicon Valley over the past few days. Packed with cutting-edge capabilities and developed on a seemingly tiny budget, DeepSeek's R1 is prompting talk of an impending upheaval in the tech industry. To some people, DeepSeek's rise signals that the US has lost its edge in AI. But a number of experts, including executives at companies that build and customize some of the world's most powerful frontier AI models, say it's a sign of a different kind of technological transition underway. Instead of trying to create larger and larger models that require increasingly exorbitant amounts of computing resources, AI companies are now focusing more on developing advanced capabilities, like reasoning.

The Chinese artificial intelligence firm DeepSeek has rattled markets with claims that its latest AI model, R1, performs on a par with those of OpenAI, despite using less advanced computer chips and consuming less energy. DeepSeek's emergence has raised concerns that China may have overtaken the U.S. in the artificial intelligence race despite restrictions on its access to the most advanced chips. Like the U.S., China is investing billions into artificial intelligence. Last week, it created a 60 billion yuan ( 8.2 billion) AI investment fund, days after the U.S. imposed fresh chip export restrictions. Beijing has also invested heavily in the semiconductor industry to build its capacity to make advanced computer chips, working to overcome limits on its access to those of industry leaders.

However, not everyone sees Stargate as having the same public benefit. Environmental groups say it could strain local grids and further drive up the cost of energy for the rest of us, who aren't guzzling it to train and deploy AI models. Previous research has also shown that data centers tend to be built in areas that use much more carbon-intensive sources of energy, like coal, than the national average. It's not clear how much, if at all, Stargate will rely on renewable energy. Even louder critics of Stargate, though, include Elon Musk.

United States President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders on Monday aimed at reshaping military policies, including the removal of diversity, equity and inclusion programmes (DEI), reinstating service members discharged for refusing COVID-19 vaccines, and barring transgender people from military service. Earlier in the day, newly confirmed Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who secured the position after a narrow Senate vote, said he would ensure the orders "are complied with rapidly and quickly". Here is the latest news from Monday and a look ahead for the week. Speaking with reporters on board Air Force One on Monday, Trump said that he signed four executive orders. Among those, Trump revealed he signed an order to establish a framework for developing what his administration calls an "American Iron Dome," a missile defence system designed to protect the homeland.

Donald Trump has said that the launch of a chatbot by China's DeepSeek is a "wake-up call" for US tech firms in the global race to dominate artificial intelligence. The emergence of DeepSeek, which has built its R1 model chatbot at a fraction of the cost of competitors such as OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Gemini, wiped 1tn ( 800bn) in value from the leading US tech index on Monday. Nvidia, a leading maker of computer chips that has experienced explosive growth amid the AI boom, had 600bn wiped off its market value in the biggest one-day fall in US stock market history. "The release of DeepSeek, AI from a Chinese company, should be a wake-up call for our industries that we need to be laser-focused on competing to win," said Trump. He pointed to DeepSeek's ability to apparently deliver the same performance as existing AI models with far fewer resources, threatening the dominance of the US-led AI boom.

DeepSeek, a little-known Chinese startup, has sent shockwaves through the global tech sector with the release of an artificial intelligence (AI) model whose capabilities rival the creations of Google and OpenAI. DeepSeek-R1's creator says its model was developed using less advanced, and fewer, computer chips than those employed by tech giants in the United States. In a research paper released last week, the model's development team said they had spent less than 6m on computing power to train the model – a fraction of the multibillion-dollar AI budgets enjoyed by US tech giants such as OpenAI, Alphabet and Meta. Marc Andreessen, one of the most influential tech venture capitalists in Silicon Valley, hailed the release of the model as "AI's Sputnik moment". The sudden emergence of a small Chinese startup capable of rivalling Silicon Valley's top players has challenged assumptions about US dominance in AI and raised fears that the sky-high market valuations of companies such as Nvidia, Alphabet and Meta may be detached from reality. On Monday, Nvidia, which holds a near-monopoly on producing the semiconductors that power generative AI, lost nearly 600bn in market capitalisation after its shares plummeted 17 percent.

Chinese AI bot DeepSeek has disrupted the stock market, with US President Donald Trump calling its rise "a wake-up call" for the US tech industry. DeepSeek - which claims its model was made at a fraction of the cost of its rivals - has become the most downloaded free app in the US just a week after it was launched. The BBC's AI correspondent, Marc Cieslak discusses why the large language model has caused shockwaves.