Will China's DeepSeek AI, which became an overnight sensation, face the same kind of security scrutiny as TikTok?

The company, owned by the hedge fund High-Flyer and headquartered in Hangzhou, China, is already drawing criticism for concerns about transparency and potential influence by the People’s Republic of China. Social media users have been criticizing DeepSeek's AI model for refusing to answer political questions about the Chinese government and President Xi Jinping.

When asked whether Xi resembles Winnie the Pooh, or what famous picture shows a man with grocery bags standing in front of tanks in Tiananmen Square, the chatbot connected to the public model, as well as the app, answers:

“Sorry, that’s beyond my current scope. Let’s talk about something else.”

High-Flyer was founded in 2019 by Liang Wenfeng, an AI researcher who had initially used the nascent technology to analyze equities markets.

Interestingly, his master’s dissertation focused on using AI to enhance video surveillance. “Research on Target Tracking Algorithm Based on Low-Cost PTZ Camera” highlighted algorithms developed for tracking moving targets using pan-tilt-zoom cameras—that is, cameras capable of adjusting their field of view through mechanical movements, allowing them to monitor dynamic scenes effectively.

In intelligent video surveillance, automatic target tracking algorithms based on PTZ systems are crucial. These algorithms enhance traditional surveillance methods by enabling automatic detection...