Photo/Illutration DeepSeek’s official website (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

The Japanese government has warned its ministries and agencies to refrain from using artificial intelligence developed by the Chinese startup DeepSeek amid widespread concerns about the company’s handling of personal information.

The warning was issued in written statements on Feb. 6, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi explained at a news conference that afternoon.

When government institutions use generative AI, personnel are generally not allowed to input confidential information into AI algorithms. They are also expected to get approval within their organization in advance for the purpose of AI use and the scope of users.

“Related ministries and institutions specializing in this issue will work together to deal with AIs, including DeepSeek,” Hayashi said at the news conference.

“Then, we will cooperate with other countries’ government institutions to collect information on the issue using international frameworks,” he said.

DeepSeek’s AI has attracted attention because it has outperformed GPT4, which the U.S. company Open AI released last year, in some indicators, despite its comparatively low development cost.

However, information entered into DeepSeek’s AI is stored on servers in China and Chinese laws apply to the terms of use. The Japanese government has called on the public to be cautious about using the service.

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