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‘Our Advantage May Not Last,’ US Tech Investors Fear Amid Emergence Of China’s Deepseek

Published

6 months ago

January 30, 2025

The emergence of the DeepSeek chatbot has sent Silicon Valley into a frenzy, with calls to go faster on advancing artificial intelligence and beat communist-led China before it is too late.

California tech investors have usually kept their involvement in politics low key, generally supporting centrist politicians who don’t get in the way of their innovations and business plans.

But the AI revolution, and the potential ability of China to pose a direct threat to US dominance, has unnerved tech investors, who are now calling on the Donald Trump-led US government to help them take the battle to their Chinese rivals.

“It’s a huge geopolitical competition, and China’s running at it super hard,” warned Facebook titan Mark Zuckerberg on the Joe Rogan podcast.

He noted that DeepSeek is “a very advanced model” and that it censors historical events like Tiananmen Square, arguing that “we should want the American model to win.”

Google, though not specifically mentioning DeepSeek, on Wednesday said the United States must take urgent action to maintain its narrow lead in artificial intelligence technology or risk losing its strategic advantage.

“America holds the lead in the AI race — but our advantage may not last,” it warned, calling for government help in AI chip production, streamlining regulations and beefing up cybersecurity against national adversaries.

The emergence of DeepSeek’s lower cost breakthrough particularly threatens US-based AI leaders like OpenAI and Anthropic, which have invested billions in developing leading AI models.

OpenAI raised alarms Tuesday about Chinese companies attempting to copy their advanced AI models through distillation techniques, announcing plans to deepen collaboration with US authorities.

OpenAI investor Josh Kushner criticized so-called “pro-America technologists” who praise what he claims is Chinese AI built with misappropriated US technology.

Palmer Luckey, a Trump-supporting tech entrepreneur, suggested DeepSeek’s success was being amplified to undermine Trump’s policies.

– ‘Fall behind’ –

Despite US government efforts to maintain AI supremacy through export controls on advanced chips, DeepSeek has found ways to achieve comparable results using authorized, less sophisticated Nvidia semiconductors.

The app’s popularity has soared, topping Apple’s download charts, with US companies already incorporating its programming interface into their services.

Perplexity, an AI-assisted search engine startup, has begun using the technology while claiming that it keeps user data within the US.

The tech community can count on Washington, where concern about China has achieved rare bipartisan consensus.

Last year, Republicans and Democrats passed a law ordering the divestment of TikTok, a subsidiary of the Chinese group ByteDance.

“If America falls behind China on AI, we will fall behind everywhere: economically, militarily, scientifically, educationally, everywhere,” the US Senate’s top Democrat Chuck Schumer said Tuesday.

“China’s innovation with DeepSeek is jarring, but it’s nothing compared to what will happen if China beats the US on the ultimate goal of AGI, artificial general intelligence. We cannot, we must not allow that to happen.”

Representative Mark Green, a senior Republican said “let’s set the record straight — DeepSeek R1 is another digital arm of the Chinese Communist Party.”

However, some argue this aggressive approach may backfire, given Silicon Valley’s reliance on Chinese talent.

Nvidia researcher Zhiding Yu highlighted this concern on X, noting how a Chinese intern from his team joined DeepSeek in 2023.

“If we keep cooking up geo-political agendas and creating hostile opinions to Chinese researchers, we will shoot ourselves in the foot and lose even more competitiveness.”
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S’Africa Offers US New Trade Deal To Avoid 30% Tariff

Published

12 hours ago

August 12, 2025

Editor

South Africa will offer a “generous” new trade deal to the United States to avoid 30 percent tariffs, ministers said Tuesday.

Washington on Friday slapped the huge tariff on some South African exports, the highest in sub-Saharan Africa, despite efforts by Pretoria to negotiate a better arrangement to avoid massive job losses.

The ministers did not release details of the new offer but said previously discussed measures to increase imports of US poultry, blueberries, and pork had been finalised.

“When the document is eventually made public, I think you would see it as a very broad, generous and ambitious offer to the United States on trade,” Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen said at a press briefing.

Officials have said the 30 per cent tariff could cost the economy around 30,000 jobs.

“Our goal is to demonstrate that South African exports do not pose a threat to US industries and that our trade relationship is, in fact, complementary,” Trade Minister Parks Tau said.

The United States is South Africa’s third-largest trading partner after the European Union and China.

However, South African exports account for only 0.25 per cent of total US imports and are “therefore not a threat to US production”, Tau said.

Steenhuisen said US diplomats raised issues related to South African domestic policies, which was a “surprise given the fact we thought we were in a trade negotiation”.

The two nations are at odds over a range of policies.

US President Donald Trump has criticised land and employment laws meant to redress racial inequalities that linger 30 years after the end of apartheid.

“Things like expropriation without compensation, things like some of the race laws in the country, are issues that they regard as barriers now to doing trade with South Africa,” he told AFP on the sidelines of the briefing.

“I think we’re seeing some form of a new era now where trade and tariffs are being used to deal with other issues, outside of what would generally be trade concerns,” Steenhuisen said.

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Over 600 Pilgrims Hospitalised After Chlorine Gas Leaked In Iraq

Published

2 days ago

August 10, 2025

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More than 600 pilgrims in Iraq were briefly hospitalised with respiratory problems after inhaling chlorine as the result of a leak at a water treatment station, authorities said on Sunday.

The incident took place overnight on the route between the two Shiite holy cities of Najaf and Karbala, located in the centre and south of Iraq, respectively.

This year, several million Shiite Muslim pilgrims are expected to make their way to Karbala, which houses the shrines of the revered Imam Hussein and his brother Abbas.

There, they will mark the Arbaeen — the 40-day period of mourning during which Shiites commemorate the death of Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Mohammed.

In a brief statement, Iraq’s health ministry said, “621 cases of asphyxia have been recorded following a chlorine gas leak in Karbala”.

“All have received the necessary care and left the hospital in good health,” it said.

Security forces charged with protecting pilgrims, meanwhile, said the incident had been caused by “a chlorine leak from a water station on the Karbala-Najaf road”.

Much of Iraq’s infrastructure is in disrepair due to decades of conflict and corruption, with adherence to safety standards often lax.

In July, a massive fire at a shopping mall in the eastern city of Kut killed more than 60 people, many of whom suffocated in the toilets, according to authorities.

AFP

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PHOTOS: US Soldier Searching For Her Nigerian Father

Published

2 days ago

August 10, 2025

Editor

Old photos of Zainab James Parents, Lateef Quadri and Claudine James. Credit: Facebook

A US soldier, Zainab James, has launched a public search for her Nigerian father, identified as Lateef Quadri

The 31-year-old took to Facebook on Sunday to share old photographs of her father and her late mother, Claudine James, including one where Claudine was pregnant with her.

According to Zainab, her mother became pregnant in 1993, and she was born in 1994. Sadly, she lost her mother.

Old photos of Zainab James Parents, Lateef Quadri and Claudine James. Credit: Facebook

In her post, Zainab wrote, “Update: Mother’s name : Claudine James, born Decenber 9, 1969 in Montego Bay, Jamaica (deceased) , Hey All! A real shot in the dark but why not! My mom(pictured) got pregnant with me in 1993 ( I was born 1994) while living in Brooklyn New York. I’m looking for my father or any of his family. All I know is he was Nigerian, possibly named Lateef Quadri or something like that. They didn’t have a long term relationship as he wasn’t present at my birth but he did choose my name. No one in my family met him either. Apparently she was friends with his sister who worked in a jewelry store with her.”