we need to talk about DeepSeek yawl
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Glitch Artists focus on understanding systems — how they work && how to break them in order to create our own rules of the game. this approach reveals important truths about technology && power, now epitomized by generations of Glitch Art && Digital Art from the 1970s to today
taking a critical approach to frontier technologies is even more important than before as we face DeepSeek, an extremely dangerous && weaponized system deployed by the People’s Republic of China + Chinese Communist Party (PRC CCP)
lets be clear: any use of DeepSeek — whether online or locally — is deeply irresponsible for anyone who values democracy, freedom of speech, human rights, self-determination, or is a citizen of nations such as USA or Taiwan. here’s why:
creating an account? yr getting keylogged && literally giving PRC CCP any && all information you enter into the system. think about that — every keystroke, every query, every piece of data you share becomes part of their authoritarian surveillance apparatus
installing on yr phone? when you enable camera && microphone access (which the app requires), you’re literally giving direct access to yr physical space && conversations to the People’s Republic of China + Chinese Communist Party. how much more clear do we need to be? how about this ➝ now yr phone is even more of a betrayal device against you && everyone around you
downloading to run locally on yr computer? now you’ve compromised yr entire machine && network, potentially any data on or connected to yr machine including internal && external storage devices. this isn’t just about you — it’s about yr family, yr community, && everyone yr connected. is yr computer at home? in yr house? would you purposefully give keys to yr house tp those who deeply seek to do you actual harm?
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as an educator who has spent decades teaching students how to critically engage with technology, i can’t emphasize enough how crucial it is to understand the political realities of these tools. they are not neutral. Open Source is not apolitical
when we break systems in art, we do it to reveal truth && create beauty through Glitch Art, the Art of Surprise. but DeepSeek is broken by design, built to be able to break us with hidden surveillance capabilities, backdoors, disinformation, && lies. DeepSeek is a demonstrable PRC CCP propaganda machine, weaponized the very communities it claims to serve
remember: there is no such thing as “private industry” in the PRC — every company, every piece of software, every system can be instantly nationalized && weaponized by the CCP. this isn’t speculation; it’s the law in the PRC. this is documented reality, widely understood here in the nation of Taiwan
to my students, past && present, to my fellow artists && educators, && to everyone exploring frontier technologies: think critically about the systems you use in this Age of AI. all of our futures depend on it
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still think DeepSeek is harmless? yesterday’s economic impact shows just how serious these threats are:
• NASDAQ crashed by ~3.5% on DeepSeek news, biggest drop since October 2024
• NVIDIA stock prices plummeted ~17%
• nearly $1.5 trillion in market value wiped out (equivalent to Spain’s entire GDP)
• Bitcoin fell below $100k for first time since January 16th, dropping to ~$98,852
• global oil prices dropped 3% to two-week low due to economic uncertainty
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key points we need to understand:
• even if DeepSeek is “open source” that doesn’t mean backdoors are easy to detect
• PRC CCP requires backdoors in ALL software/hardware, this is documented fact
• they might build the door && the key but not use it until after mass adoption
• individual users cannot effectively monitor these systems
• web-based services mean even less user control
• surveillance capabilities can be activated at any time
• “private business” doesn’t exist in PRC — CCP can nationalize/militarize instantly
• PRC operates as an advanced surveillance state
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want more proof? review these PRC laws and regulations:
• The 2014 Counter-Espionage Law mandates that “when the state security organ investigates and understands the situation of espionage and collects relevant evidence, the relevant organizations and individuals shall provide it truthfully and may not refuse”
• The 2015 National Security Law gives the government authority to take control of private businesses in matters of national security with recent examples including Alibaba’s restructuring, Ant Group’s halted IPO, etc
• Article 7 of the 2017 National Intelligence Law explicitly states that any organization shall support, assist, and cooperate with national intelligence efforts
• Bloomberg News reporting on discovery of backdoors in Huawei equipment by multiple security researchers && firms
• The 2020 Hong Kong National Security Law and subsequent criminalization of democracy movements, free speech, freedom of assembly and association, etc
