In October 1957, the first satellite ever was launched into space. Its name was SputnikAny of a series of earth-orbiting satellites launched by the Soviet Union beginning in 1957. - and it gave Americans the shock of their lives.

For years their leaders had told them they were the world's technological superpower, far ahead of their rivals in the USSRThe United Socialist Soviet Republic, the USA's main rival in the Cold War before it collapsed and broke up into a number of smaller states in 1991.. Instead, here was proof the Soviets had leapfrogged them.

Moreover, they had used military rocket technology to put it there. If the USSR had planted its flag in space, who knew what weapons they could rain down on American heads?

Over the weekend Americans woke up to a similar crisis, as Chinese large language modelA type of artificial intelligence (AI) programme that uses deep learning to analyse and generate human language. (LLM) DeepSeek took the world by storm - and crashed the US stock marketA series of exchanges where shares in public companies are issued, bought and sold..

The US tech sector has had a bullishAggressively confident. few weeks. Its leading light, OpenAIAn American artificial intelligence company. It says its mission is to "benefit all of humanity". , was able to secure up to $500bn in funding through the Stargate partnership, backed by Donald Trump. The company's CEO, Sam Altman, claimed this could be the key to developing super-powerful Artificial General IntelligenceThe hypothetical ability of AI to learn or understand any task that a human can.  (AGI).

Then, just days later, DeepSeek proved itself a match for OpenAI's famed ChatGPTAn Artificial Intelligence chatbot released in November 2022. . The new programme's creators claim it cost less than $6m to develop and is as much as 40 times cheaper to run than ChatGPT.¹

This is largely because it uses so much less energy than its US counterparts. Data centres already consume fully 4.4% of all US electricity, and this is projected to reach 12% by 2028.² Tech firms have even been contracting nuclear power stations to fuel their AI.

That is why the US tech sector went into freefall on Monday, as investors began asking why US tech giants need all this money and energy.

It is not just Silicon ValleyA global centre of technological innovation in Northern California. It is home to many start-up and global technology companies including Apple, Facebook and Google. that is worried. The US fears China is pulling ahead in the global race to be the top technological power. It may be the first AGI speaks not in English, but in Mandarin.

Tech developers preach that AGI will revolutionise human life, devising new cancer vaccines, ending hunger, even fixing the climate crisis. It could also be used to develop new weapons. Having the first AGI could be many times more significant than having the first nuclear bomb.

Others are more concerned about DeepSeek's programming. Multiple users have noted that when they ask it questions about Tiananmen SquareA huge open space in the middle of Beijing. It is known for a large-scale student protest that took place there in 1989 before being brutally crushed by China's communist rulers. or TaiwanAn island country in east Asia. China still claims to be the legitimate owner of Taiwan, while the Taiwanese government until recently claimed to be the legitimate government of the whole of China., both taboo subjects in China, it gives non-committal answers, or even sends back the Chinese government line as if it were impartial fact.

Some fear that as Western markets get saturated with this cheaper AI model, they will also be fed a diet of misinformation to the benefit of China. It may even start to affect how people vote.

This is not just a problem with DeepSeek. ChatGPT has previously been accused of having a liberal bias.³ Since the election, OpenAI has cosied up to Donald Trump, raising concerns it might begin to swing the other way.⁴

Some people already use chatbots as a kind of search engine. They may not be aware that the information they are being fed is biased or omitting important detail. They risk losing their ability to do their own research and to read multiple different perspectives.

Others think the risk may come from the AI developers. Altman stirred controversy last week when he declared AI would require "changes to the social contractAn agreement among the members of a society to cooperate for social benefits.". Many fear this is just the first hint AI billionaires mean to use their technology to reshape society in their favour.

Is DeepSeek a democracy-killer?

Yes: This is an AI programme that explicitly favours the narrative of a global superpower. As it becomes more widely used it will inject disinformation into the public sphere.

No: History is full of technologies that promised to reshape society and ended up petering out. Once people figure out the limitations of LLM AI models, they too will be consigned to the dustbin.

Or... The problem is not the software itself. It is AI developers' willingness to sacrifice everything, even liberal democracy, in the name of creating a technological god, AGI.

Sputnik - Any of a series of earth-orbiting satellites launched by the Soviet Union beginning in 1957.

USSR - The United Socialist Soviet Republic, the USA's main rival in the Cold War before it collapsed and broke up into a number of smaller states in 1991.

Large Language Model - A type of artificial intelligence (AI) programme that uses deep learning to analyse and generate human language.

Stock Market - A series of exchanges where shares in public companies are issued, bought and sold.

Bullish - Aggressively confident.

OpenAI - An American artificial intelligence company. It says its mission is to "benefit all of humanity".

Artificial General Intelligence - The hypothetical ability of AI to learn or understand any task that a human can. 

ChatGPT - An Artificial Intelligence chatbot released in November 2022.

Silicon Valley - A global centre of technological innovation in Northern California. It is home to many start-up and global technology companies including Apple, Facebook and Google.

Tiananmen Square - A huge open space in the middle of Beijing. It is known for a large-scale student protest that took place there in 1989 before being brutally crushed by China's communist rulers.

Taiwan - An island country in east Asia. China still claims to be the legitimate owner of Taiwan, while the Taiwanese government until recently claimed to be the legitimate government of the whole of China.

Social Contract - An agreement among the members of a society to cooperate for social benefits.