U.S. Congressional Staff Banned From Using DeepSeek
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January 31, 2025 Hour: 8:31 am
This is not the first time that Congress’s administrative authorities have restricted the use of an AI product for its employees.
On Friday, Axios reported that the United States Congress has banned its employees from using DeepSeek, the Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) system.
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According to the American news outlet, Congress has struggled to navigate the administrative and security challenges posed by the rapid advancement of AI technology.
“At this time, DeepSeek is under review by the Congressional Administrative Office (CAO) and is currently not authorized for official use in the House,” said the Chief Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives in a warning to employees, which Axios has accessed.
The notice warned that there is evidence of “actors” who are “already using DeepSeek to distribute malicious software and infect devices.”
“To mitigate these risks, the House has implemented security measures to restrict DeepSeek’s functionality on all devices issued” by the institution, the statement adds, emphasizing that “employees are prohibited from installing DeepSeek on any official phone, computer, or tablet.”
This is not the first time that Congress’s administrative authorities have restricted the use of an AI product for its employees. In 2023, Congress imposed limits on the use of ChatGPT, instructing its departments that they could only use the premium version of the chatbot—developed by the U.S. company OpenAI—for certain tasks, Axios recalls.
DeepSeek has caused a significant stir in the global AI sector following the release of its V3 model, which is claimed to have been developed in just two months at a cost of under $6 million. Its latest version, named R1, was released on January 20.
teleSUR/ JF Source: EFE
