The U.S. Navy has issued a strong warning to its personnel, advising them to avoid using DeepSeek, a Chinese artificial intelligence platform, due to security and ethical concerns.
Official Advisory
The warning was sent via email on Friday, just as DeepSeek was gaining traction in the tech industry. The email explicitly instructed Navy members not to use DeepSeek for either work-related tasks or personal use.
A Navy spokesperson confirmed the authenticity of the email, explaining that the warning aligns with the Department of the Navy’s Chief Information Officer’s policy on generative AI.
DeepSeek’s Rise and Industry Impact
DeepSeek recently launched its AI model, R1, which has been praised for its advanced reasoning capabilities, rivaling technology from OpenAI. The model is open source, meaning developers worldwide can access and utilize it. DeepSeek's app has rapidly climbed to the top of Apple’s App Store, even surpassing OpenAI’s ChatGPT in popularity.
The company's rapid success has sent shockwaves through financial markets. On Monday, concerns arose over the possibility that future AI models might require significantly less expensive infrastructure than previously assumed. DeepSeek disclosed that its latest large language model was developed in just two months with an investment of under $6 million—far less than what companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google typically spend. This revelation rattled investors, leading to a sharp decline in AI-related stocks. Nvidia and Broadcom, two major AI chipmakers, saw their shares drop by 17%, wiping out a combined $800 billion in market value. The Nasdaq also dipped by 3.1%.
Details of the Navy’s Warning
The Navy’s warning, however, had been issued days before this market turmoil.
“We would like to bring to your attention a critical update regarding a new AI model called DeepSeek,” the email stated, emphasizing that it is “imperative” for personnel to avoid using the technology. It further instructed recipients to “refrain from downloading, installing, or using the DeepSeek model in any capacity.” The email was sent to the OpNav distribution list, an all-hands memo addressing the entire operational Navy. The warning was based on an advisory from the Naval Air Warfare Center Division’s Cyber Workforce Manager.
DeepSeek, meanwhile, announced on Monday that it had temporarily restricted new user registrations due to large-scale cyberattacks on its platform. However, the company later resumed normal operations.
Political and Industry Reactions
The controversy surrounding DeepSeek has drawn attention from high-profile figures, including former President Donald Trump, who took office last Monday. Trump described DeepSeek’s rapid rise as a “wake-up call” for the U.S. tech industry. His administration is currently engaged in efforts to prevent the Chinese-owned social media platform TikTok from being banned or forced into a sale due to national security concerns. During his previous administration, Trump initially supported banning TikTok before later reversing his stance.
David Sacks, a venture capitalist who serves as Trump’s AI and crypto advisor, weighed in on the situation via X (formerly Twitter). He remarked that DeepSeek R1 proves the AI race is highly competitive, expressing confidence in U.S. innovation but warning against complacency. Meanwhile, Meta, which has developed its own open-source AI models under the Llama brand, has reportedly set up four DeepSeek-related “war rooms” within its generative AI division.
The Future of AI Competition
Alexandr Wang, CEO of Scale AI, echoed concerns about DeepSeek’s rapid advancements. In an interview with CNBC last week, Wang called DeepSeek’s last AI model “earth-shattering” and stated that its new R1 release is even more powerful. He claimed it is “roughly on par with the best American models” and described the competition between the U.S. and China as an “AI war.” His company provides training data to major AI firms, including OpenAI, Google, and Meta.
In response to these developments, the Trump administration recently announced its first major AI initiative—a joint venture called Stargate, involving OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank. This initiative aims to invest billions into strengthening AI infrastructure in the U.S.
The battle for AI supremacy between the U.S. and China is intensifying, and with DeepSeek’s rapid rise, concerns over security, innovation, and economic impact are only growing.