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Photograph: (staff)
The Ministry of Finance has instructed its employees to refrain from utilizing AI tools such as ChatGPT and DeepSeek for official activities due to the potential risks these chatbots present to the confidentiality of government documents and data, as reported by Reuters, referencing an internal advisory from the department.
The advisory indicated, "It has been determined that AI tools and AI applications (such as ChatGPT, DeepSeek, etc.) on office computers and devices pose risks to the confidentiality of government data and documents," according to the Reuters report.
Although the finance ministry notification is reportedly dated January 29, the revelation of its existence coincides with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's visit to India, where he is anticipated to meet with IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
India's own AI tool(s)
In response to the recent rise in popularity of DeepSeek, Vaishnaw announced India's intention to participate in the global AI competition by developing its foundational model.
“The foundational models made in India will be able to compete with the best of the best in the world… With algorithmic efficiency, we can create these models in a much shorter time frame. We will have a world-class foundational AI model in just a few months.” the union minister had said then.
The Electronics and IT Minister previously stated that the data privacy concerns associated with DeepSeek could be mitigated by hosting open-source models on servers located in India.
DeepSeek under international examination
Recently, the Dutch privacy authority, AP, declared the initiation of an investigation into DeepSeek's privacy practices, particularly focusing on the application's handling of users' personal data.
Following its rapid ascent in popularity, DeepSeek has attracted heightened attention from regulators globally regarding its privacy policies. The Chinese application has already faced a ban in Italy due to its inability to address privacy issues highlighted by the nation's data protection agency.
Additionally, on Tuesday, Australia announced a prohibition on the use of DeepSeek across all government devices due to comparable concerns.