It’s Brilliant, Don’t Use It: What Adland Needs To Know About DeepSeek

Our co-founder Tim O’Neill was interviewed for this article in B&T magazine today, discussing the impact of the new DeepSeek Large Language Model for marketing professionals and advertising agencies.

A summary is below, and the full article can be read here: https://www.bandt.com.au/its-brilliant-dont-use-it-what-adland-needs-to-know-about-deepseek/

TLDR;

DeepSeek, a new Chinese generative AI model, has made a significant impact in the AI industry with its recent launch. The technology stands out for three key reasons: it costs about one-tenth of competing models while operating at twice the speed, it reportedly doesn't rely on Nvidia's microchips, and it represents China's entry into a previously US-dominated field.

Despite its rapid popularity, with mobile app downloads doubling to 2.6 million in just days and reaching top positions in 51 countries, experts and officials urge caution. Tim O'Neill, co-founder of AI agency Time Under Tension, is impressed with the capabilities and thinks the impact will be widespread, but advises against business use due to data privacy concerns, noting that DeepSeek lacks data protection settings and may share information with the Chinese Communist Party.

Unlike competitors such as ChatGPT, DeepSeek currently only processes text, though its emergence has disrupted assumptions about the massive infrastructure investments needed to compete in AI development.