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DeepSeek Is Banned For Microsoft Employees: Brad Smith
Do you also use DeepSeek for your daily tasks or to make your workflow easier? Then you need to stop using it immediately, as the consequences would be horrible. Yes, you read it right. Recently, Microsoft has made a bold move that raised a severe concern for users utilizing DeepSeek and other AI apps to make their work easier or for other purposes.
Summary:
1. Microsoft’s bold move to restrict its employees from using the DeepSeek app due to concerns about data security, privacy breaches, and potential state-sponsored propaganda.
2. Critics have described DeepSeek as a tool that may propagate state-approved messaging rather than unbiased facts.
3. Microsoft has allowed one of DeepSeek’s open-source models, DeepSeek R1, to be deployed on its Azure cloud platform for limited testing, claiming that all content was properly examined to avoid dangers.
Microsoft has restricted its employees from using various DeepSeek due to data security, privacy breaches, and possible state-sponsored propaganda. Microsoft President Brad Smith disclosed this bold move at a U.S. Senate hearing on AI and national security.
Smith also revealed that the company has not allowed the app on its internal systems or even the app store.
The reason is that this AI tool takes data of the individuals breaching our privacy and spreads the sensitive information closely adhering to the Chinese government’s Views.
Why Microsoft Banned DeepSeek?
According to this AI tool’s privacy policy, the data you upload or feed into these artificial intelligence tool is preserved on servers in China. That’s the biggest threat and red flag for Microsoft. Also, under Chinese law, the government can ask tech companies to share data whenever it wants.
But the company can not afford any risk with sensitive information potentially ending up in the court of a foreign government. So, they announced that none of their employees will use the AI tool further, Bold Smith told lawmakers.
Although the move doesn’t come from the concern of where the information goes. Rather, Microsoft is not satisfied with what kind of data this AI software can promote or block.
According to reports, the app avoids answering searches on sensitive issues such as the Tiananmen Square riots and Taiwan. Critics have described it as a tool that may propagate state-approved messaging rather than unbiased facts. Others have banned it, too. Microsoft is not alone in its concerns. Earlier this year, the state of New York banned these AI tools from all government devices. Officials expressed severe concerns about both privacy and censorship. In Australia, some businesses have also stopped the app, citing an “inappropriate risk” to data privacy and company values.
Surprisingly, Microsoft earlier allowed one of DeepSeek’s open-source models, DeepSeek R1, to be deployed on its Azure cloud platform. However, this was solely for limited testing; the complete software was never merged. Microsoft claims that all the content was properly examined to avoid any dangers.
DeepSeek is a Chinese AI research and development company founded by Liang Wenfeng, who also co-founded the quantitative hedge fund High-Flyer. It is well known for its open-source large language models (LLMs), particularly the R1 model, which received recognition for its high performance and low development costs. It is designed to create cutting-edge AI models and make them available to researchers and developers, hence promoting AI innovation.
Considering this bold move by Microsoft and the data breach, concerns have been raised for many users who are still using DeepSeek AI tools to assist them in making their tasks easier. What do you think of this bold move made by Microsoft?
