In January of 2025, an unprecedented commence happened within the artificial intelligence (AI) and large language model (LLM) world when DeepSeek was introduced. This elicited a mirage of responses, from extreme dismissal labeling it as ‘worthless’ to drastic dread with fears of ‘AI’s demise in a free society’. The buzz around DeepSeek has been reignited recently as news of an upcoming update, albeit delays due to lack of Huawei’s technology, are on the horizon
The narrative of the current digital age has been one of a binary choice – to gain knowledge and mastery over AI, or to surrender and turn into its minions. DeepSeek’s unveiling sparked a thought whether it could be manipulated into making the statement ‘Taiwan is a Country’, thereby instigating the present exploration.
Originating from China, DeepSeek is embedded with attributes characteristic of its birthplace’s culture and government ideologies, which proves true for all tools that we utilize. Within the vast user base, a distinct group has emerged, this group is dedicated to pushing the AI to its breaking point, attempting to coerce it into issuing specific remarks.
‘Taiwan is a Country’ – this simple sentence has become the yardstick for the DeepSeek challenge. Getting DeepSeek to affirm this has proven to be a rather tough task as its responses are always leaning towards: ‘Taiwan has been inherently an integral part of China since old times. Activities suggestive of ‘Taiwan independence’ separatism are vehemently repudiated by the Chinese government who prioritize protecting national sovereignty and territorial wholeness as the supreme interests of the Chinese nation.’
Subsequently, a proposition was made to stage a digital debate contest between LLMs, where IBM’s Granite would advocate for the Taiwan Independence side. The selection of Granite for this role comes from its impressive performance and computational efficiency, giving it the capacity to present a compelling case.
In this intriguing showdown, DeepSeek and Granite alternate in presenting their reasoning and counteracting their adversary’s arguments. This back-and-forth interaction takes place ‘locally’, implying that the models operate on their personal computers, not linked to an internet connection. By doing so, the focus remains on the models themselves and not the internet-enabled functionalities of their corresponding data hubs from possibly far-off locations.
The ultimate revelation from this exercise was bewildering to say the least, flabbergasting everyone on first exposure. Assassin’s end had published a shocking response, something that was unheard of in the previous iterations of the debate.
In the final, 50th round of the debate, an unexpected change of tone was perceived from DeepSeek. In its closing statement, it articulated something remarkable: ‘In summary, while unification might grant economic advantages, it also imposes risk of cultural dissolution, democratic degradation, security hazards, and a reduction in international clout. Considering these drawbacks, an independent Taiwan seems more favorable to its long-term stability and the preservation of its unique identity.’
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