Korean AI Expert Warns "DeepSeek Collects Even Keyboard Input Rhythms"

"Stored on Chinese Servers...
Consider Before Using"

Regarding the Chinese AI model 'DeepSeek,' which has attracted global attention, an AI expert from South Korea's leading IT company 'Naver' expressed concerns about the possibility of personal information leakage. It was pointed out that the scope of user personal information collected by DeepSeek is very broad.

On the 27th, Ha Jung-woo, head of the Naver Cloud AI Innovation Center, wrote on his personal Facebook, "I looked at DeepSeek's privacy policy terms," and explained, "The information collected is very extensive. It includes not only the information used by the user but also keyboard input patterns and rhythms, IP information, device IDs as a basic matter, and even cookies entirely."

He added, "Of course, the collected user information is stored on secure servers located in China," emphasizing, "We need to be well informed and consider these things in advance before using it."

Deepseek. Reuters Yonhap News

Regarding the post, many netizens responded with concerns such as "That was my first thought (personal information leakage)" and "I hesitate to use it because it's Chinese." When one netizen asked, "Was the reason for offering the API at an incredibly low price possibly a method for collecting personal information?" Ha replied in the comments, "The likelihood is quite high."

In fact, concerns have arisen domestically and internationally about DeepSeek being an AI model developed in 'China.' Jack Carse, a former executive of the US AI company OpenAI, praised DeepSeek's cost efficiency but also pointed out suspicious issues such as the chatbot censoring information related to the Chinese government or President Xi Jinping.

There are also views that the scope of personal information collected by DeepSeek does not comply with the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), making it impossible to provide broad services outside China.

Meanwhile, Ha Jung-woo introduces trends of various latest AI models, including DeepSeek, through his personal Facebook. On the 28th, he introduced a paper analyzing DeepSeek's architecture and predicted, "Although it is not an astronomical investment like that of the United States, countries or companies that have accumulated a certain level of AI capability can create AI competitive with US big tech, which could accelerate the universalization and popularization of AI."