DeepSeek may give China the soft power edge it’s looking for, particularly in Global South

Since its rapid rise, the Chinese artificial intelligence start-up DeepSeek has faced considerable scrutiny from some Western countries but that is unlikely to be the case in the Global South where observers say it offers great potential.

DeepSeek, the Hangzhou-based firm that rocked the world with the launch of its large language model last month, has been touted by one professor as a “gift to the developing world”.

According to observers, this means DeepSeek’s success could be a huge boost for China’s soft power, especially in the developing world, as Beijing seeks to further expand its influence in the Global South.

Stephen Minas, a professor at Peking University’s school of transnational law, argued in an Australian magazine article this month that poorer nations could take advantage of opportunities brought by DeepSeek’s success, including its open-source nature that would make it “easier for others to learn from and iterate”.

DeepSeek grabbed global attention by creating a powerful AI model at a significantly lower cost. And unlike its Western competitors, it adopted an open-source approach, meaning its algorithm is freely available for anyone to use and access.

  

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