Analyst Predicts Western Military and Intelligence Agencies Will Quickly Investigate DeepSeek
Retired Australian Army Major General Mick Ryan believes that military organizations will be enticed by the purportedly low cost of DeepSeek, but he also raises concerns about security issues.
According to an analyst, the introduction of the DeepSeek-R1 chatbot in English has piqued the interest of military and intelligence agencies in the Western world.
Mick Ryan, a retired Australian Army Major General now serving as a senior fellow for military studies at the Lowy Institute in Sydney and the Australia Chair for the Center for Strategic and International Studies, anticipates a rush for military and intelligence agencies in the West to download and extensively test the technology. However, he highlights questions regarding its effectiveness compared to current models and its suitability for battlefield applications.
Ryan notes that artificial intelligence (AI) is already being utilized in military contexts, particularly evident in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, with various organizations incorporating it for command and control, targeting, imagery analysis, logistics, and personnel tracking.
Despite the potential benefits, Ryan underscores the security concerns associated with a technology developed under the supervision of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
He urges caution around the data generated by users and its potential transmission to China, emphasizing that individuals with security clearances in Western military or intelligence services are unlikely to download it outside of official applications.
Ryan believes there is a possibility that Beijing’s military may have adopted DeepSeek technology but questions its implications for military forces in the Pacific.
Regarding the cost of DeepSeek, Ryan raises doubts about the reported figure of $6 million, suggesting that the actual expenses may be significantly higher when considering training costs, GPU rentals, and other factors. He poses the question of whether military institutions will continue to pay large American AI companies for services after witnessing the capabilities of DeepSeek.
