How DeepSeek overcame US sanctions
MIT Technology Review
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The AI community is abuzz over DeepSeek R1, a new open-source reasoning model. The model was developed by the Chinese AI startup DeepSeek, which claims that R1 matches or even surpasses OpenAI’s ChatGPT o1 on multiple key benchmarks but operates at a fraction of the cost. DeepSeek’s success is even more remarkable given the constraints facing Chinese AI companies in the form of increasing US export controls on cutting-edge chips. In this edition of What’s Next in Tech, discover how the company was able to overcome US sanctions to create DeepSeek R1.
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With a new reasoning model that matches the performance of ChatGPT o1, DeepSeek managed to turn restrictions into innovation.
Early evidence shows that the US’s export controls on advanced semiconductors are not working as intended. Rather than weakening China’s AI capabilities, the sanctions appear to be driving startups like DeepSeek to innovate in ways that prioritize efficiency, resource-pooling, and collaboration.
To create R1, DeepSeek had to rework its training process to reduce the strain on its GPUs, a variety released by Nvidia for the Chinese market that have their performance capped at half the speed of its top products, according to Zihan Wang, a former DeepSeek employee and current PhD student in computer science at Northwestern University.?
DeepSeek R1 has been praised by researchers for its ability to tackle complex reasoning tasks, particularly in mathematics and coding. The model employs a “chain of thought” approach similar to that used by ChatGPT o1, which lets it solve problems by processing queries step by step.
Dimitris Papailiopoulos, principal researcher at Microsoft’s AI Frontiers research lab, says what surprised him the most about R1 is its engineering simplicity. “DeepSeek aimed for accurate answers rather than detailing every logical step, significantly reducing computing time while maintaining a high level of effectiveness,” he says.
The company has also released six smaller versions of R1 that are small enough to? run locally on laptops. It claims that one of them even outperforms OpenAI’s o1-mini on certain benchmarks.
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Although there's a lot of buzz around R1, DeepSeek remains relatively unknown. Read the story to dive deep into how the startup managed to create an AI model that one expert says could be a “truly equalizing breakthrough” despite tight US sanctions.
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OK Bo?tjan Dolin?ek
It's a good news for AI/ML industry indeed. While we create AI hype across the street, the main issue of this innovation is that we are trying to use more expensive technology to replace cheaper ones. This won't make any economic sense and eventually will bust. DeepSeek shared their breakthroughs like early OpenAI, now Meta. It lowers the cost and every AI/ML company can apply it. It will boost the AIML application development and increase the adoption. We still need the compute power.
In the Business of Big Data
4 周What's all the shock about low cost DeepSeek? It's made in China, where they also experiment on their 1.4 billion population using unbridled AI and the readily available big-to-massive-to-humongous-data for any and all models. If you think Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, ABC, among others, exploits data from Americans, wait til you find out what China does with their humongous data that's 4 times that of the USA. Kung Hei Fat Choi!
Certified Collection Specialist at Wakefield & Associates, Inc
1 个月Impressive
UI & UX Product Specialist @ Freelance Digital | Creative / Design Director | Innovator
1 个月Restrictions force us to think outside the box, leading us to natural innovation. When resources, time, options are limited, we find creative solutions to overcome obstacles. This constraint-driven problem-solving encourages efficiency, new perspectives, and unconventional thinking. If you want a creative mind to excel restrict it!! Disruption is king.