Chinese AI chatbot DeepSeek censors itself in realtime, users report

Users experimenting with DeepSeek have seen the Chinese AI chatbot reply and then censor itself in real time, providing an arresting insight into its control of information and opinion. Users might expect censorship to happen behind closed doors, before any information is shared. But that does not seem to be the case in the tool that sent US technology stocks tumbling on Monday. DeepSeek, or the automated guardrails that appear to police its own freedom of "thought" and "speech", brazenly deletes uncomfortable points. Before the censor's cut comes, DeepSeek seems remarkably thoughtful. In Mexico, Guardian reader Salvador asked it on Tuesday if free speech was a legitimate right in China.