Pentagon staff still using DeepSeek – Bloomberg

Pentagon staff have been downloading an early version the Chinese generative artificial intelligence model DeepSeek onto their workstations since the fall of 2024, according to Bloomberg. The Pentagon’s IT experts only moved to partially block the app’s usage after its recent surge in popularity.

Earlier this month, the Chinese startup unveiled its latest open-source AI model, R1, which its creators claim has outperformed leading products from US developers, including OpenAI’s flagship o1, in some cases. The model’s accessibility – allowing anyone to download and run it on their own servers for free – has stirred the open-source community and triggered a sell-off of US tech stocks on Monday.

The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), which manages the Pentagon’s IT networks, moved to block access to the DeepSeek website late on Tuesday after many defense employees had already used the latest AI chatbot for at least two days, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, citing unnamed US defense officials…