Australian authorities disagree on the answer the country should take to the continuous success of the Chinese AI app Deepseek. While some industry groups call for quick actions in support of National AI innovation, the Minister of Science urges caution.
Tech Council of Australia, an industry organ that includes Microsoft, Atlassian, Google and IBM among its members, warned that the government should “act now or risk Australia falling behind in AI development and adoption.” In a statement about the Austral Government’s national AI capacity plan, TCA said, “Deepseeks reported breakthroughs show that the AI landscape is very competitive and rapidly evolving.”
Deepseek recently launched an AI -Chat app with a “reasoning” model comparable to Openais O1. The Deepseek app rapidly rose to the top of the Apple’s App Store and caused a voting among US AI companies. Its debut rattled financial markets – Nvidia and Microsoft Stocks got a hit when the investor’s confidence in the US AI producers dipped.
The Council emphasized its support for the National AI plan announced by the government in December, but argued that the country “cannot wait” before 2025 to end it. The recommended key priorities such as AI education, infrastructure investments, pro-innovation rules, international cooperation and research support.
In November, research from the industry group found that increasing total tech investments from 3.7% to 4.6% of the country’s GDP could contribute to make sure Australia is a competitive place to manufacture and deliver technology products, ”the council said.
See: Australia could have 200,000 AI -Tech workers by 2030
The Australian Strategic Political Institute, a prominent think tank, repeated the mood of the Council. It said Australia “cannot continue the current approach to responding to each new technical development” and should instead focus on building its own sovereign AI capabilities. Like Tech Council, the institute emphasized the need for a national strategy to ensure AI’s role in defense, national security and financial stability.
Safety concerns about Deepseek have also emerged. Researchers have found that the app is vulnerable to attacks and may be imprisoned, allowing it to bypass its built -in protective measures. Cybercx, a leading Australian cyber security company, has called for a ban on Deepseek in Australia with reference to risks and national security risks.
“We believe it is almost certain that Deepseek, the models and apps it creates and the user data it collects is subject to direction and control of the Chinese government,” Cybercx said in a statement.
Federal industry and science minister Ed Husic has also taken a cautious attitude since Deepseek’s debut. Instead of pushing for quick innovation to compete with China, he raised concern that the app’s remarkable capabilities may have come at the price of proper “data and privacy management.”
“The Chinese are very good at developing products that work very well. This market is used to their approaches to data and privacy, ”Husic told ABC via AFP. “The moment you export it to markets where consumers have different expectations of privacy and data management, the question is whether these products will be embraced in the same way.”
However, the newly appointed chief scientist Tony Haymet expressed a more optimistic view. In a press conference, Haymet described Deepseek’s success as a demonstration of “how disturbing technology can be and how fast things can happen.”
He said, “I consider AI a great opportunity. I think it is a great export option for Australia because AI needs electricity and most of the world requires us to deliver AI with renewable electricity and Australia is perfectly created for it. Whichever way we decide to supply this electricity, we can do it. “