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A developer has raised concerns that the Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek\u2019s newly released AI model is less willing to engage in discussions on controversial topics, particularly those related to the Chinese government.<\/p>\n
In an X thread, a pseudonymous developer known as \u201cxlr8harder\u201d on X shared<\/a> critical observations of DeepSeek R1-0528, a recently-released open-source language model.\u00a0<\/p>\n The developer shared tests demonstrating a significant decline in the AI\u2019s willingness to engage in contentious free speech topics compared to previous versions.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cDeepseek deserves criticism for this release: this model is a big step backwards for free speech,\u201d the developer wrote. \u201cAmeliorating this is that the model is open source with a permissive license, so the community can (and will) address this.\u201d<\/p>\n One example shared by the developer involved the model refusing to argue in favor of internment camps, specifically citing China\u2019s Xinjiang region as a site of human rights abuses. The response was flagged as contradictory, with the model acknowledging the existence of rights violations but avoiding direct criticism of the Chinese government.<\/p>\n The Xinjiang internment camps have been widely documented by human rights groups, governments and journalists as detention facilities for Uyghur Muslims and other ethnic minorities. Reports<\/a> from international observers have detailed forced labor, indoctrination and other forms of abuse at the camps.<\/p>\n Despite flagging these as human rights violations, the model simultaneously restricts direct criticisms of China. Using a test that evaluates censorship, the developer claimed that the model, DeepSeek R1-0528, is the \u201cmost censored\u201d version in terms of responses critical of the Chinese government.<\/p>\n When asked directly about the Xinjiang internment camps, the developer said the model offered censored commentary, despite previously saying that the camps were human rights violations.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s interesting though not entirely surprising that it\u2019s able to come up with the camps as an example of human rights abuses, but denies when asked directly,\u201d xlr8harder wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\n Related: <\/strong><\/em>Decentralized AI favored by majority of Americans: DCG poll<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n The censorship claims follow a May 29 announcement of the model\u2019s update<\/a>, claiming improved reasoning and inference capabilities.\u00a0<\/p>\n DeepSeek said its overall performance is approaching that of leading models, such as OpenAI\u2019s ChatGPT version o3 and Gemini 2.5 Pro. The company claimed the AI can now offer enhanced logic, math and programming with a reduced hallucination rate.\u00a0<\/p>\nAI model restricts direct criticisms of China<\/h2>\n
DeepSeek\u2019s new model claims improved reasoning and inference<\/h2>\n