Microsoft Bans Workers From Utilizing DeepSeek, Regardless of Internet hosting It On Azure

Microsoft has taken a agency stance in opposition to the usage of the Chinese AI tool DeepSeek inside its group, formally banning staff from utilizing the expertise in office settings or on corporate-issued units. The choice is rooted in considerations over information safety and potential dangers linked to foreign-developed synthetic intelligence platforms, significantly these originating from China.

Brad Smith, president of Microsoft, confirmed the ban and said that DeepSeek wouldn’t be made out there on the Microsoft Retailer. The reasoning behind that is to keep away from not solely any safety vulnerabilities but additionally to discourage what he known as “Chinese language propaganda” related to the device’s utilization. Smith made these remarks throughout a latest U.S. Senate listening to, the place he voiced robust help for U.S. authorities efforts—particularly these backed by the Trump administration—to limit the usage of Chinese language-developed AI methods on federal networks and units.

Regardless of this restrictive inside coverage, Microsoft has made the DeepSeek R1 mannequin accessible via its Azure AI Foundry platform. This transfer has drawn consideration because of its obvious contradiction with the corporate’s inside ban. Nevertheless, Microsoft has clarified that DeepSeek is an open-source AI mannequin, which permits it to be hosted on non-public servers with out requiring any communication with Chinese language-based infrastructure. This key distinction considerably reduces the safety dangers usually related to international AI methods, reminiscent of information leakage or unauthorized entry.

When requested about this inconsistency, Smith defined that Microsoft had applied a number of modifications to the DeepSeek mannequin earlier than making it out there by way of Azure. In line with him, these “cuts” have been essential to remove “dangerous unintended effects,” thereby enabling a safer and managed model of the AI to be supplied to builders and researchers. This strategy displays Microsoft’s try to steadiness entry to open-source innovation with the necessity to keep strict cybersecurity requirements.

In abstract, Microsoft’s twin strategy to DeepSeek—banning its use internally whereas nonetheless offering a curated model on Azure—demonstrates the complexities of navigating AI growth in a worldwide and politically delicate panorama. The corporate seems dedicated to supporting innovation, together with instruments developed exterior the U.S., however solely below circumstances that guarantee information safety and compliance with nationwide safety priorities. This case highlights broader tensions between open-source accessibility and geopolitical warning within the evolving world of synthetic intelligence.

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