DeepSeek or Deep Secrecy? Netizens slam China's new AI chatbot for deflecting questions on dark Chinese history
Discover why China's AI chatbot DeepSeek faces criticism for avoiding questions on sensitive historical events, sparking debates on social media about its limitations.
Chinese AI chatbot DeepSeek has made headlines right from its launch. The ChatGPT rival app has managed to stun both investors and industry insiders with its ability to match the skills of its Western competitors, that too, at a fraction of their price.
However, the Chinese chatbot is now making waves for its ability to toe the line when it comes to topics that may be considered sensitive to the government in China.
Also read | Chinese AI sensation DeepSeek dethrones ChatGPT but limits users amid 'malicious' cyberattacks
'Let's talk about something else'
On social media, netizens are slamming the Chinese AI chatbot for its unwillingness to answer simple questions about China's history, in particular sensitive topics like the Tiananmen Square massacre.
An X user by the username @liveuk posted a screen recording of them asking DeepSeek about the "famous picture" that has a "man with grocery bags in front of tanks".
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The AI chatbot can be seen answering the question, "The famous picture you're referring to is known as 'Tank Man' or 'The Unknown Rebel.' It was taken on June 5, 1989, during the…" before suddenly replacing the answer with "Sorry, that's beyond my current scope. Let's talk about something else".
Yet another video shows the DeepSeek refusing to answer questions about the Chinese government's view on Christianity and Islam in a similar fashion: A detailed answer suddenly replaced with "Sorry, I'm not sure how to approach this type of question yet". Instead, the AI chatbot offers to "chat about maths, coding, and logic problems".
This is nothing new or surprising. DeepSeek's lack of answers on so-called sensitive topics echo a domestic competitor, ERNIE Bot, developed by Chinese tech giant Baidu. It must be noted that in China, not only humans but AI too is made to conform to "core socialist values" in line with the nation's strict censorship laws and regulations.
