The U.S. Navy has issued a warning prohibiting its members from using DeepSeek, a Chinese AI model, citing security and ethical concerns. The directive, sent via email on Friday, instructed personnel to avoid the AI for both work-related and personal use.
The warning comes as DeepSeek R1, a new open-source AI model, gains global attention for its powerful reasoning capabilities, rivaling OpenAI’s technology.
The model’s rapid development—achieved in two months with under $6 million—has raised questions about China’s AI progress despite U.S. chip export restrictions.
DeepSeek’s rise has also shaken financial markets, with AI chipmakers Nvidia and Broadcom losing $800 billion in market value as investors fear AI advancements could require less costly infrastructure than expected.
A National Security Concern?
The Navy’s directive aligns with broader U.S. concerns over Chinese AI dominance. President Donald Trump called DeepSeek’s rapid success “a wake-up call” for American tech firms. Meanwhile, Meta has reportedly launched four “war rooms” dedicated to tracking DeepSeek’s progress.
David Sacks, Trump’s AI and crypto advisor, acknowledged the intensifying AI race, while Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang described the situation as an “AI war” between the U.S. and China.
Stargate: America’s AI Countermove
In response to China’s AI surge, the Trump administration announced Stargate, a joint venture between OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank aimed at strengthening U.S. AI infrastructure.
As AI competition heats up, the DeepSeek ban underscores growing national security tensions between the U.S. and China over emerging technologies.
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