Kevin Roose

I think it threw into question this fundamental assumption that only the big dogs could play in AI. You had to be Microsoft or Amazon or Google if you wanted a chance to build the state-of-the-art AI models.

I think it threw into question this fundamental assumption that only the big dogs could play in AI. You had to be Microsoft or Amazon or Google if you wanted a chance to build the state-of-the-art AI models.

And I think what the Deep Seek story suggested is that there may be a whole other world of competitors out there trying to stay close to the frontier and that they might not have to have the resources of one of the world's largest corporations to do it.

And I think what the Deep Seek story suggested is that there may be a whole other world of competitors out there trying to stay close to the frontier and that they might not have to have the resources of one of the world's largest corporations to do it.

But there was one other piece of this that I think really suggests that the AI race has entered a new phase, which is that DeepSeek did something that a lot of American companies have been hesitant to do, which is that they released their AI models as open source software, meaning that anyone on the internet can download and use, can make their own versions of, can adapt, can tweak.

But there was one other piece of this that I think really suggests that the AI race has entered a new phase, which is that DeepSeek did something that a lot of American companies have been hesitant to do, which is that they released their AI models as open source software, meaning that anyone on the internet can download and use, can make their own versions of, can adapt, can tweak.

It is software that can be reused and remixed and improved upon. by anyone. And so when DeepSeek released its models this way, they really sent a message to the world that says, we are serious here about competing. And we're so serious that we're going to give away our models for free so that anyone who wants to can make them better.

It is software that can be reused and remixed and improved upon. by anyone. And so when DeepSeek released its models this way, they really sent a message to the world that says, we are serious here about competing. And we're so serious that we're going to give away our models for free so that anyone who wants to can make them better.

And so all of a sudden, it just flipped the entire AI race onto its head and really sent it into a new gear.

And so all of a sudden, it just flipped the entire AI race onto its head and really sent it into a new gear.

So it's a complicated question to answer because there are ways in which it is probably good and ways in which it is probably bad. The case that this is a good thing is that in general, when you make things cheaper, they can be accessible to more people. I mean, remember, DeepSeek is not just free to use in the app or on the website.

So it's a complicated question to answer because there are ways in which it is probably good and ways in which it is probably bad. The case that this is a good thing is that in general, when you make things cheaper, they can be accessible to more people. I mean, remember, DeepSeek is not just free to use in the app or on the website.

It was also released as open source software, meaning that anyone with an Internet connection can download it and install it on their own computers or maybe tweak it to serve their own purposes. So if you are a person who wants to use AI, maybe you have a small business or maybe you just want to use this to help you grow. write letters or emails. Maybe you're a student who wants to use this.

It was also released as open source software, meaning that anyone with an Internet connection can download it and install it on their own computers or maybe tweak it to serve their own purposes. So if you are a person who wants to use AI, maybe you have a small business or maybe you just want to use this to help you grow. write letters or emails. Maybe you're a student who wants to use this.

You can now access a very powerful model for free. Maybe you are a developer or a startup who wants to build your own AI tools. Well, now you have this deep seek model that you can kind of take off the shelf as open source software and build your own version of it or run it on your own hardware.

You can now access a very powerful model for free. Maybe you are a developer or a startup who wants to build your own AI tools. Well, now you have this deep seek model that you can kind of take off the shelf as open source software and build your own version of it or run it on your own hardware.

And so the people that I talk to in the tech industry who are at startups or smaller companies are very excited about this. This is a great development for them. And it also means that if you are a person who worries that all the AI power is going to go to a few huge companies, then the democratization of AI through open source models like DeepSeek probably makes you feel optimistic.

And so the people that I talk to in the tech industry who are at startups or smaller companies are very excited about this. This is a great development for them. And it also means that if you are a person who worries that all the AI power is going to go to a few huge companies, then the democratization of AI through open source models like DeepSeek probably makes you feel optimistic.

So that is the positive case for this. But there are also a lot of people who are really worried about what DeepSeek has done. I think the DeepSeek moment has really sparked a lot of new fears about how quickly this whole field of AI is progressing. I mean, just in the last few years,

So that is the positive case for this. But there are also a lot of people who are really worried about what DeepSeek has done. I think the DeepSeek moment has really sparked a lot of new fears about how quickly this whole field of AI is progressing. I mean, just in the last few years,