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AI Agents to Significantly Improve Employee Productivity

ARK’s Big Ideas 2025

ARK Invest’s Big Ideas 2025 highlights the convergences between and among the five technologically enabled innovation platforms evolving today: Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Energy Storage, Public Blockchains, and Multiomic Sequencing. In 2025, ARK features 11 Big Ideas illustrating the massive transformations occurring today.

ARK’s 11 Big Ideas 2025

  1. The Second Half of the Chessboard: Convergence among technology platforms leading to significant acceleration in macroeconomic growth
  2. AI Agents: Redefining consumer interactions and business workflows
  3. Bitcoin: A maturing global monetary system with sound network fundamentals and growing institutional adoption
  4. Stablecoins: Reshaping the digital asset space
  5. Scaling Blockchain: Enabling steep cost declines and new use cases at the application layer
  6. Robotaxis: Transforming personal mobility while lowering costs and enhancing safety
  7. Autonomous Logistics: Cutting costs, revolutionizing supply chains, and reshaping consumer behavior
  8. Energy: Powering the artificial intelligence revolution
  9. Robotics: Decoupling physical labor from output
  10. Reusable Rockets
  11. Multiomics: Operationalizing data with AI to transform diagnostics, drug discovery, and therapies

AI Agents

AI agents are poised to accelerate the adoption of digital applications and create an epochal shift in human-computer interaction. AI agents:

  • Understand intent through natural language
  • Plan using reasoning and appropriate context
  • Take action using tools to accomplish the intent
  • Improve through iteration and continuous learning

Here are examples of business, market, and innovation disruption opportunities based on wider adoption of AI agents in the next decade:

Consumer Brand Discovery

According to ARK, AI agents will transform consumer search and discovery. Embedded in the operating systems of consumer hardware, AI agents empower consumers to delegate all discovery and research to AI — a massive time-saver. Curated AI results will contextualize digital ad impressions.

Advertising Spend

AI-mediated ads should take the lion’s share of digital ad revenue by 2030. According to ARK, if search shifts to personal AI agents, AI-mediated ad revenue could surge. By 2030, we believe AI ad revenue could account for more than 54% of the $1.1 trillion digital ad market.

Online Shopping

AI-mediated shopping is likely to approach 25% of addressable online sales globally by 2030. The growing use of AI agents in consumer shopping should streamline product discovery, personalization, and purchasing. ARK research suggests that AI agents could facilitate nearly $9 trillion in global gross online consumption by 2030.

Market Consolidation

Digital wallets are consolidating financial services and e-commerce. Based on their consumer-facing operations, the market is valuing leading digital wallet platforms like Block, Robinhood, and SoFi at $1,800 per user today.

AI-Powered Digital Wallets

Digital wallets empowered by AI purchasing agents — taking share from payment methods like credit and debit cards — could account for 72% of all e-commerce transactions by 2030.

AI Agents Guiding the Shopping Journey

Digital wallet purchasing agents could become central to the shopping journey. Agentic lead generation should move digital wallets upstream to capture market share in e-commerce and digital spending globally. "One-click checkout" should give way to "one-query purchasing."

Enterprise Growth in Valuations

Purchasing agents should increase the enterprise value of digital wallets, notably in e-commerce. Based on lead-generation take rates, AI purchasing agents could generate global revenue between $40 billion and $200 billion — ARK’s base and bull cases, respectively — for digital wallet platforms in 2030. In 2030, AI-powered purchasing agents could add between $50 and $200 per user to the enterprise value (EV) of digital wallets in the U.S.

Increased Employee Productivity Powered by Software

In the enterprise, agents will increase productivity via software. Companies that deploy agents should be able to increase unit volume with the same workforce and/or optimize their workforce toward higher-value activities. As AI evolves, agents are likely to handle a higher percentage of workloads and complete higher-value tasks independently.

AI Costs are Declining

ARK notes that AI cost declines should impact agent economics significantly. ARK also notes that new products from Salesforce are supplementing human customer service representatives cost-effectively. Even at a fixed cost of $1 per conversation, AI agents could save enterprises significant sums once they can handle 35% of customer service inquiries. AI agents should also lower onboarding and hiring costs, as well as seat-based software costs, while scaling more easily than human labor.

Software Development Cycles are Shrinking

AI is also reshaping the software value chain. ARK notes that the coding skills of AI agents are improving rapidly, accelerating the software development lifecycle. As the cost to create software declines, software production should accelerate and sway enterprise "build vs. buy" decisions, displacing traditional software incumbents that are slow to adapt.

AI is Supercharging Knowledge Workers

ARK concludes by highlighting how AI will supercharge knowledge work. Through 2030, ARK expects the amount of software deployed per knowledge worker to grow considerably as businesses invest in productivity solutions. Depending on adoption rates, global spend on software could accelerate from an annual rate of 14% over the last 10 years to annual rates of 18% to 48%.

Conclusion

ARK’s Big Ideas 2025 highlights11 big ideas with comprehensive and compelling data and forecasting methodologies. The Autonomous Logistics and Robotics big ideas are equally compelling and speak to the 4th wave of AI innovation — predictive, generative, agentic, and physical AI. All 11 big ideas benefit from AI advancements. To learn more about the Big Idea 2025 report, you can visit here.

FAQs

Q: What are the 11 big ideas featured in ARK’s Big Ideas 2025 report?
A: The 11 big ideas are: The Second Half of the Chessboard, AI Agents, Bitcoin, Stablecoins, Scaling Blockchain, Robotaxis, Autonomous Logistics, Energy, Robotics, Reusable Rockets, and Multiomics.

Q: What are AI agents?
A: AI agents are programmed to understand intent through natural language, plan using reasoning and appropriate context, take action using tools to accomplish the intent, and improve through iteration and continuous learning.

Q: How will AI agents impact consumer interactions and business workflows?
A: AI agents will redefine consumer interactions and business workflows by enabling consumers to delegate all discovery and research to AI, streamlining product discovery, personalization, and purchasing.

Q: How will AI-powered digital wallets impact e-commerce transactions?
A: Digital wallets empowered by AI purchasing agents could account for 72% of all e-commerce transactions by 2030.

Avelios Nabs $31M Led by Sequoia to Fix the Ailing World of Healthcare IT

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The Race to Build a New Generation of Healthcare Software

A startup out of Munich, Germany called Avelios has ambitions to build a new kind of end-to-end administrative system, leaning into more modern tooling using AI and cloud services. On Thursday, it announced €30 million ($31 million) in Series A funding as it gains momentum.

Covid Beginnings

Avelios is taking a ground-up approach to the world of healthcare systems, aiming at a market that has up to now largely been built around siloed implementations that serve specific purposes, and have thus had to be specially integrated to work together (and might have never worked that well together as a result).

As Albrecht describes it, Krammer had been working as a doctor during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the creaky nature of the German healthcare system was laid bare to him.

“He ran through hospitals and spent almost all of his time counting patients by hand and then reporting the results to authorities by hand,” recounted Albrecht. Krammer then consulted with Jakob, who he knew from before, on how to possibly build something to improve reporting to gain better insights into emerging trends.

Investor Attention on Pragmatic Wins

Sequoia’s attention started out by way of an introduction from Revent, one of the seed investors.

“Avelios was under the radar building this system for four years,” Anas Biad, Sequoia’s partner leading on the investment, said in an interview. He said he was completely surprised to discover once he started to look just how many customers they’d picked up despite being so quiet.

Conclusion

Avelios is making a big and ambitious swing here, but it’s doing so also with a lot of pragmatism. Hospitals are not typically going to turn around and rip out entire systems wholesale to update, not least because they have to continue operating, but also because of the cost.

FAQs

Q: What is Avelios’ approach to building a new healthcare system?
A: Avelios is taking a ground-up approach, aiming at a market that has up to now largely been built around siloed implementations that serve specific purposes, and have thus had to be specially integrated to work together.

Q: What is the funding amount raised by Avelios?
A: Avelios has raised €30 million ($31 million) in Series A funding.

Q: Who are the investors in Avelios?
A: Sequoia is leading the round, with investors from Avelios’ seed round also participating, including High-Tech Gründerfonds, Revent, and individual investors.

Q: What is the significance of SAP’s shift towards cloud services?
A: SAP’s shift towards cloud services has meant it has shifted away from building, and helping to support long-term, point-specific solutions for particular verticals, including healthcare, leaving a gap in the market for companies like Avelios.

Q: What is Avelios’ strategy for landing customers?
A: Avelios is taking a modular approach, allowing customers to land and expand incrementally, rather than having to rip out entire systems and replace them with new ones.

PHILIPS 27E1N1600AE Affordable Business Monitor

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Work-Play Balance: Philips 27E1N1600AE Monitor Review

Like many creatives, my gaming room setup doubles as my work-from-home office space. To achieve that true work-play balance, I got myself a budget monitor from Philips that I now use exclusively with my MacBook Pro for more admin-related tasks.

Low-Blue-Light Mode: A Game-Changer for Eye Health

One of my favourite settings on this monitor is the low-blue-light mode, which helps to combat eye strain caused by staring at screens for long periods. I suffer from pretty much all of the symptoms of computer vision syndrome (CVS), including eye strain, headaches, poor posture, and general irritability – which I’ve been trying to work on (though I’m not sure if my blue-light-blocking glasses are doing much).

Multi-Display Productivity

Most of the work I do on my MacBook Pro involves article writing, managing spreadsheets, replying to emails, and the occasional photo editing while listening to Spotify. I find it much easier to stay organized with all of these tasks when working on multiple displays. I only needed something simple, but I got more than I asked for with this monitor, including built-in 2W stereo speakers (though the sound quality is a bit tinny).

Design and Performance

The Philips 27E1N1600AE is the latest addition to the company’s E-line family of business monitors, which usually I wouldn’t consider purchasing. But this monitor has really surprised me and offers great value for the quality and performance that you get with it. For example, it has a 100Hz refresh rate, which is great for both eye comfort and watching videos, while the IPS QHD panel is boosted with HDR for vivid colours.

Comparison with Other Monitors

I recently wrote about my new 4K gaming monitor that I’ve been using to play Marvel Rivals, and how at $400 – I thought it was a steal. In comparison, this budget Philips monitor is nothing flashy, primarily marketed as a business display, but has a very stylish all-black design that looks modern, so you’d never suspect that it wasn’t a gaming monitor when included in my triple-monitor gaming setup (see images below).

Conclusion

In short, I highly recommend this monitor for anyone who deals with a lot of admin work: emails, spreadsheets – you get it. Sometimes less is more, and it’s better to have a monitor calibrated for plain text than one that’s riddled with chromatic aberration. It’s definitely not a gaming monitor, though I did try it out with my PS5 – but it’s perfect for almost everything else, and super affordable too.

FAQs

Q: Is this monitor suitable for gaming?
A: No, this monitor is primarily marketed as a business display and is not suitable for gaming.

Q: What is the refresh rate of this monitor?
A: The Philips 27E1N1600AE has a 100Hz refresh rate, which is great for both eye comfort and watching videos.

Q: Is this monitor suitable for working with multiple displays?
A: Yes, this monitor is perfect for working with multiple displays, as it allows for easy multitasking and organization.

Q: Is the sound quality good on this monitor?
A: The built-in 2W stereo speakers are decent, but the sound quality is a bit tinny.

Shinoda Tayu to Kuzunoha

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The Beautiful Oiran of Japan: Shinoda Tayu

Introduction

In the world of traditional Japanese entertainment, the Oiran was a highly respected and sought-after courtesan. With their beauty, charm, and captivating performances, they were the epitome of elegance and sophistication. Among the many Oiran who graced the pleasure quarters, one stood out for her exceptional beauty and captivating charm: Shinoda Tayu.

The Transformation of a Heart

Shinoda Tayu’s heart was heavy with sorrow, filled with the pain of being sold to the pleasure quarter by her parents. Her pain and anguish transformed her into the divine fox, God fox, and Dancing Fox. This transformation allowed her to abandon her human form and return to her hometown, where her parents resided.

The Consequences of her Transformation

As Shinoda Tayu returned to her hometown, she became known as Kuzunoha, a name that reflected her connection to the divine fox. It is said that the child she conceived in the pleasure quarter was Abe no Seimei, a renowned Onmyodo practitioner. The details of her life and transformation are left to the imagination, as this story is purely fictional.

Conclusion

Shinoda Tayu’s story is a testament to the power of human imagination and creativity. Her transformation from a courtesan to a divine being serves as a reminder of the enduring allure of the Oiran and the impact they had on Japanese culture. Her story will continue to captivate and inspire, leaving us to wonder about the secrets of the pleasure quarter and the mysteries of the heart.

FAQs

Q: What is an Oiran?
A: An Oiran is a traditional Japanese courtesan, known for their beauty, charm, and captivating performances.

Q: Who is Abe no Seimei?
A: Abe no Seimei is a renowned Onmyodo practitioner and is said to be the child of Shinoda Tayu, according to the fictional story.

Q: Is this story based on fact or fiction?
A: This story is purely fictional, created to entertain and inspire. The details of the story are not based on historical records or facts.

The Zenfone 12 Ultra is another big phone the US won’t get

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The Zenfone 12 Ultra: A New Chapter in the Gaming Universe

Introduction

The Zenfone 12 Ultra, the latest addition to the Asus gaming family, has officially launched today, but with a twist. Unlike previous generations, this edition will not be sold in the US market.

Design and Specifications

As expected, the 12 Ultra is a de-gamer-ified ROG Phone 9 Pro with a big screen, a Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, and a unique gimbal-like stabilizer in the main camera. The phone features a 6.78-inch screen with a 1080p resolution, which is a little low for a panel of this size. It also comes with a 5,500mAh battery, supporting 65W wired charging and up to 15W wireless charging via the Qi 1.3 standard.

Camera and Gimbal-Like Stabilizer

The 12 Ultra’s camera hardware is unchanged from the 11 Ultra, with a 50-megapixel main camera, 32-megapixel 3x telephoto, and a 13-megapixel ultrawide on the rear panel. The phone also features a gimbal-like image stabilization, which is in its fourth iteration. This technology offers hardware-based shake correction, combined with an updated electronic stabilization algorithm.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Features

The 12 Ultra comes with a load of AI features, including AI background noise removal for video recording, AI-powered semantic search in the photo gallery, AI voice memo transcription, and AI document summarization. These features are all very familiar and seemingly a pre-requisite for any phone in 2025.

Conclusion

The Zenfone 12 Ultra is a powerful device with impressive specifications, but its absence from the US market may be a disappointment for some fans. However, the phone’s unique gimbal-like stabilization and AI features make it an attractive option for those looking for a high-performance device.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: Will the Zenfone 12 Ultra be available in the US?
A: No, the Zenfone 12 Ultra will not be sold in the US.

Q: What is the starting price of the Zenfone 12 Ultra?
A: The starting price of the Zenfone 12 Ultra is €1,099 (about $1,145).

Q: What is the battery capacity of the Zenfone 12 Ultra?
A: The battery capacity of the Zenfone 12 Ultra is 5,500mAh.

Q: What is the wireless charging standard supported by the Zenfone 12 Ultra?
A: The Zenfone 12 Ultra supports up to 15W wireless charging via the Qi 1.3 standard.

You Can Access ChatGPT Search without an Account Now

The Best Way to Get the Most Out of an AI Chatbot

Verifying Sources and Accessing More Robust Content

The best way to get the most out of an AI chatbot is to verify its sources and let it direct you to more robust and useful content regarding the topic. AI search engines are a powerful tool for everyday workflows, and accessing ChatGPT Search just got a whole lot easier.

How to Make ChatGPT Provide Better Sources and Citations

On Wednesday, OpenAI shared that ChatGPT Search is now available to everyone, no account needed. All users have to do is visit the ChatGPT standalone site, and ChatGPT will automatically search the web when relevant. You can also manually call on its web search capability by clicking on the small globe icon underneath the search bar.

The Power of ChatGPT Search

ChatGPT Search, originally launched in October, allows users to search the web directly within the ChatGPT interface for timely, up-to-date information, complete with citations linked to sources. There are two big advantages that differentiate it from a traditional search engine:

  • Using conversational search queries
  • Getting a more personalized results page

With ChatGPT Search, you can enter a fragmented or unorganized sentence that follows your train of thought, and the AI can still understand the meaning of your query by leveraging its natural language processing capabilities. The result is a simplified search experience in which you can spend less time crafting a tailored search query or thinking of specific keywords.

A Simplified Search Experience

ChatGPT’s conversational text responses answer your questions directly, which can also help you save time over traditional search engine results pages, which generally require that you click on multiple links and skim sites to find the answer to what you were looking for.

For example, if you wanted to know what the technical name for a bee humming is, instead of generally searching "bee hums" on Google, you could say something like, "What is the scientific term for the sound a bee makes when it flies around you? It kinda sounds like a hum."

The Value of Footnotes and Sources

Of course, those text responses have footnotes, which you can click on to visit the original source. If you like the look and experience of a traditional SERP, you can also click on "Sources" underneath your response to see a list of websites. Sites that block OpenAI’s web crawler will not appear in the search results, so you may be missing content from some of your favorite sites.

Conclusion

You can try ChatGPT Search for yourself for free now. You can also compare it to the many AI search engines available on the market for free, which we rounded up for you here.

FAQs

Q: Is ChatGPT Search available to everyone?
A: Yes, ChatGPT Search is now available to everyone, no account needed.

Q: How do I access ChatGPT Search?
A: Visit the ChatGPT standalone site, and ChatGPT will automatically search the web when relevant. You can also manually call on its web search capability by clicking on the small globe icon underneath the search bar.

Q: How does ChatGPT Search differ from a traditional search engine?
A: ChatGPT Search uses conversational search queries and provides a more personalized results page, making it a more simplified search experience.

Docker Exercises: Part 1

Table of Contents

Questions

  1. Create a Dockerfile that installs curl and runs curl google.com.
  2. Create a Dockerfile that starts a web server on port 8080 and serves a static HTML file with the message Hello, Docker!
  3. Write a simple web server in Python that gets a name from the query string and returns Hello, !. Create a Dockerfile that runs this web server on port 8080. For this exercise, you can use the python:latest image.
  4. After creating the Python web server, check the image for vulnerabilities using the docker scout cves command. How many vulnerabilities are there? How can you fix them?
  5. Write a Python script that reads a file called data.txt and prints its content. Create a Dockerfile that copies the data.txt file to the image and runs the Python script. For this exercise, you can use the python:latest image.
  6. Change the data.txt file from the previous exercise and rebuild the image. Does the Python script print the new content?
  7. Change the data.txt file from the previous exercise and run the image again without rebuilding it. Does the Python script print the new content?
  8. Run the Docker image from the previous exercise with a volume mounted to the /data directory. Change the data.txt file on the host machine and see if the Python script prints the new content.

Exercise 1: Install Raw curl and Run a Simple Command

Create a Dockerfile that installs curl and runs curl google.com.


    # Use an official lightweight image
    FROM alpine:latest

    # Install curl
    RUN apk add --no-cache curl

    # Run curl google.com
    CMD ["curl", "google.com"]
  

Build and run the container:

docker build -t curl-test .
docker run --rm curl-test

You should see the HTML response from Google.

Exercise 2: Serve a Static HTML Page

Create a Dockerfile that starts a web server on port 8080 and serves a static HTML file with the message Hello, Docker!


    # Use an official Nginx image
    FROM nginx:latest

    # Copy custom index.html
    COPY index.html /usr/share/nginx/html/index.html

    # Expose port 8080
    EXPOSE 8080
  

Build and run:

docker build -t file-reader .
docker run file-reader

The new content will be printed.

Exercise 6: Modify data.txt and Rebuild

Modify data.txt and rebuild:

docker build -t file-reader .
docker run file-reader

The new content will be printed.

Exercise 7: Modify data.txt Without Rebuilding

Change data.txt but don’t rebuild. Run the container:

docker run file-reader

The output will still be the old content, as the file was copied during build.

Exercise 8: Use a Volume

Run the container with a mounted volume:

docker run -v $(pwd)/data.txt:/data/data.txt file-reader

Now, modifying data.txt will immediately affect the output.

Conclusion

By completing these exercises, you’ve explored key Docker concepts, including building images, running containers, scanning for vulnerabilities, and managing file changes efficiently. Happy Dockerizing!

FAQs

Q: What is Docker?
A: Docker is a containerization platform that allows you to run applications in containers.

Q: What is a container?
A: A container is a lightweight and portable way to package an application and its dependencies.

Q: What is a Dockerfile?
A: A Dockerfile is a text file that contains instructions for building a Docker image.

Q: How do I run a Docker container?
A: You can run a Docker container using the docker run command.

Q: How do I stop a Docker container?
A: You can stop a Docker container using the docker stop command.

Q: How do I remove a Docker container?
A: You can remove a Docker container using the docker rm command.

Chipmakers Qualcomm and Arm post sales rise on smartphone strength

Qualcomm and Arm Post Strong Quarterly Sales Growth

Qualcomm and SoftBank-backed Arm posted strong quarterly sales growth on Wednesday as the chipmakers benefited from better than expected smartphone demand.

Qualcomm’s Revenue Surpasses Expectations

Qualcomm reported revenue of $11.7bn for the quarter to the end of December, above consensus estimates in a S&P Capital IQ poll of $10.9bn and up 17 per cent year on year, and gave March quarter guidance that was above expectations, with a high end of about $11bn.

Arm Beats Revenue Forecasts

Arm also beat revenue forecasts for its quarter to the end of December at $983mn, up 19 per cent year on year. The UK chip designer gave guidance for the current quarter of about $1.2bn, in line with estimates.

Reasons Behind the Growth

Cristiano Amon, Qualcomm chief executive, told investors the company had seen better than anticipated demand for its smartphone products, thanks in part to Samsung’s wholesale adoption of its Snapdragon 8 Elite chips for its flagship new AI smartphone, the S25.

Both Qualcomm and Arm are betting that demand for artificial intelligence features, such as virtual assistants that run on more powerful chips, present a significant growth opportunity. This includes smartphones, where leading device makers Apple and Samsung are investing heavily into new AI assistant features.

Qualcomm’s Partnership with Apple

Qualcomm’s long-running partnership with Apple to supply it with 5G modems is set to come to an end in 2026. Apple is bringing more of its chip design in-house.

Qualcomm’s Diversification Efforts

It is now in the process of diversifying its chip business beyond smartphones into sectors such as automotive computer systems and PCs. On Wednesday it said it believed the recent success of China’s DeepSeek AI models is good news for the on-device AI features that Qualcomm’s chips power, as models become more capable and efficient.

Dispute with Arm

In December, Qualcomm came out on top in a licensing dispute with SoftBank-backed Arm over the technology it uses to build custom “cores” for its chips. A US jury ruled largely in Qualcomm’s favour in the legal dispute, which stemmed from its acquisition of Nuvia in 2021.

Arm’s Involvement in AI Infrastructure

Arm chief executive Rene Haas said the company was also benefiting from the rise of “edge” AI applications on smartphones, applications that can run on the device without needing to connect to a cloud server. Apple, for example, has adopted Arm’s latest “V9” chip architecture for chips in the iPhone 16.

SoftBank’s Grand Strategy for AI

SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son has a grand strategy for AI, which includes Stargate and envisions Arm moving into chip production, say people familiar with the matter.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Qualcomm and Arm’s strong quarterly sales growth is a testament to the growing demand for artificial intelligence features in smartphones and other devices. The companies’ diversification efforts and involvement in AI infrastructure projects are likely to drive future growth.

FAQs

Q: What was Qualcomm’s revenue for the quarter?
A: Qualcomm reported revenue of $11.7bn for the quarter to the end of December.

Q: What was Arm’s revenue for the quarter?
A: Arm reported revenue of $983mn for the quarter to the end of December.

Q: Why did Qualcomm’s shares fall despite beating revenue forecasts?
A: Qualcomm’s shares fell despite beating revenue forecasts due to high expectations and concerns about the company’s ability to maintain its growth momentum.

Q: What is SoftBank’s grand strategy for AI?
A: SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son has a grand strategy for AI, which includes Stargate and envisions Arm moving into chip production.

DeepSeek A.I. Is a Danger to Party Control

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China’s Ambitious AI Plan

In 2017, China watched in awe — and shock — as AlphaGo, an artificial intelligence program backed by Google, defeated a Chinese prodigy at a complex board game, Go. The decisive loss to a foreign computer program, which had similarly trounced a South Korean player, was a sort of Sputnik moment for China.

A New Era of A.I. Leadership

That year, Chinese officials laid out a bold plan to lead the world in A.I. by 2030, pledging billions to companies and researchers focused on the technology. From this fervor emerged DeepSeek, the largely unknown Chinese start-up that upended the technology landscape by creating a powerful A.I. model with far less money than experts had thought possible.

DeepSeek: A Game-Changer

DeepSeek is private, with no apparent state backing, but its success embodies the ambitions of China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, who has exhorted his country to "occupy the commanding heights" of technology. Mr. Xi wants the Chinese economy to be powered not by old growth engines like debt-fueled real estate and cheap exports, but by the most advanced technologies like A.I., supercomputing, and green energy.

A Shift in Global Power Dynamics

For Mr. Xi, this moment helps dent the aura of superiority the United States has held in A.I., a critical field in a fierce superpower rivalry. China has cast itself as a benevolent global partner to developing countries, willing to share its know-how, with Mr. Xi saying that A.I. should not be a "game of rich countries and the wealthy."

The Rise of China’s A.I. Industry

Now, DeepSeek has shown that it might be possible for China to make A.I. cheaper and more accessible for everyone. The question, though, is how the ruling Communist Party manages the rise of a technology that could one day be so disruptive that it could threaten its interests — and its grip on power.

Regulation and Control

Chinese regulation of A.I. has varied in intensity over the years, depending on where the country assesses its strengths and weaknesses. When the Chinese government was worried it had fallen behind the United States in 2022 after the launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, it took a more hands-off approach that ultimately allowed ventures like DeepSeek and others to thrive.

Now that the pendulum has swung the other way, that confidence in the industry could prove to be a "double-edged sword," said Matt Sheehan, who studies Chinese A.I. as a fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

The Future of A.I. in China

As if to underscore that possibility, DeepSeek’s founder, Liang Wenfeng, was invited to a discussion with Premier Li Qiang on Jan. 20, the same day that the company released its latest and most powerful A.I. model, known as R1.

How big a player China becomes on the global stage in A.I. could ultimately depend on how the government decides to balance regulations with the freedom that companies and researchers need to do cutting-edge work that allows them to compete with the United States.

Conclusion

DeepSeek’s development could also advance China’s geopolitical goals. DeepSeek uses an open source model, meaning anyone can peer under its hood and use its technology, unlike leading American companies that use more expensive proprietary software.

The low cost and open source nature of DeepSeek’s model bolsters the Chinese government’s narrative that China is the place developing countries can look to for A.I. solutions.

FAQs

Q: What is DeepSeek’s significance in China’s A.I. landscape?
A: DeepSeek is a private Chinese start-up that has created a powerful A.I. model with far less money than experts had thought possible, marking a significant shift in China’s A.I. industry.

Q: What is China’s plan for A.I. development?
A: China aims to lead the world in A.I. by 2030, pledging billions to companies and researchers focused on the technology.

Q: How will China regulate its A.I. industry?
A: China’s regulation of A.I. has varied in intensity over the years, but experts warn that the government may take a more hands-on approach to control the industry.

Q: What are the implications of DeepSeek’s development for global A.I. competition?
A: DeepSeek’s development could mark a significant shift in global A.I. competition, as China’s open source model could provide a more accessible and affordable option for developing countries.