Reflecting on the government DeepSeek ban

The AI arms race, especially between major players like DeepSeek, Alibaba, ByteDance and their US counterparts, is a double-edged sword. On one hand, rapid advancements drive innovation, increase accessibility and push the boundaries of AI capabilities. On the other hand, the intense competition often prioritises speed over security, governance and long-term sustainability.

For companies and consumers, the allure of cutting-edge AI models — especially open-source ones — comes with significant trade-offs. Open-source models provide transparency and adaptability but also introduce security risks, such as data leakage, adversarial manipulation and lack of robust safeguards against misuse. Without rigorous security vetting, organisations leveraging these models may find themselves in a precarious position, exposing sensitive data or enabling unintended consequences.

The race for the ‘fastest AI gunslinger’ also raises concerns about responsible AI development. If the focus is purely on performance benchmarks and model size, rather than safety, reliability and ethical considerations, we risk a scenario where AI is deployed recklessly. The rush to dominate the AI landscape may ultimately force companies into a Faustian bargain — trading long-term trust and security for short-term competitive advantage.

In short, while competition fuels progress, responsible AI development should not take a backseat to the speed of innovation. Organisations should weigh the risks carefully before adopting new models and push for more robust security, compliance and ethical AI standards across the industry. The reality is that it is going to be Faustian bargain-trading as no vendor is willing to hold back. It’s company versus company, country versus country. This is now geopolitical.

Artificial general intelligence (AGI) is one of the biggest table stakes in the world. This is the land of trillionaires, the definition of capitalism — you build AGI, and from that moment on, you don’t build anything again: the AGI keeps refining itself, accelerating its own intelligence until we reach artificial superintelligence (ASI). Imagine AGI cracking nuclear fusion, curing cancer and unlocking solutions that would instantly create billionaires. This arms race has everything to lose and everything to win.

But then consider a company pushing AI forward, offering incredible capabilities for free, yet lots of dangers below the surface. If there’s a lesson from DeepSeek’s triumph, money alone doesn’t foster breakthroughs — it creates an illusion of progress while the real game changers, constrained by resources, are forced to think differently. And history has shown time and time again: those who are forced to be creative, to work within limits, are the ones who ultimately win. Innovation is more than spending.

70% of companies are already blocking DeepSeek, but threat actors are moving just as quickly, spinning up DeepSeek-related domains to bypass these restrictions and exploit unsuspecting users. These domains aren’t just being used for circumvention — they’re becoming tools for compromise, targeting organisations and their customers alike. Adding to the concern, all DeepSeek requests were found in unprotected ClickHouse logs and data sent to China, raising major data sovereignty and security questions. Given the geopolitical implications, it’s only a matter of time before we see broader bans, much like TikTok, extending to lots of Chinese AI services.

So yes, grab your popcorn… but maybe also a helmet. This ride is going to be wild.

*Andrew Grealy heads Armis Labs, a research practice where experts delve into the latest trends and tactics employed by cyber adversaries. He was formerly CEO at CTCI (Cyber Threat Cognitive Intelligence, acquired by Armis) and thought leader on Cyber, AI, and Data & Analytics at Nike. Andrew graduated from the University of Queensland in Computer Science.

Image credit: iStock.com/Kenneth Cheung