OpenAI Confirms Probe into DeepSeek for Improper Data Use

TMTPOST -- OpenAI confirmed a report on Wednesday that the ChatGPT developer is taking actions to protect outputs of its models from Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) upstart DeepSeek’s suspected unauthorized use.

Credit：China Daily

OpenAI is investigating whether DeepSeek improperly improperly obtained data from its model to launch a super popular AI assistant, a spokesperson told The Hill. The person referenced a machine learning technique called distillation, which allows developers to enable a smaller model to deliver similar performance on a specific task by leverage outputs of a larger one.

Distillation does not expose a model’s inner workings and can be used by developers to improve their applications, the spokesperson noted. But OpenAI prohibits from using “output to develop models that compete with” it, according to its terms of use. The company also doesn’t allow anyone’s automatical or programmatical extraction of data or output.

“We know that groups in the PRC [People’s Republic of China] are actively working to use methods, including what’s known as distillation, to try to replicate advanced U.S. AI models," the OpenAI spokesperson said. "We are aware of and reviewing indications that DeepSeek may have inappropriately distilled our models, and will share information as we know more."

“We take aggressive, proactive countermeasures to protect our technology and will continue working closely with the U.S. government to protect the most capable models being built here,” the spokesperson said.

The confirmation came on heel of a Bloomberg report said OpenAI along with its partner and largest shareholder Microsoft are probing if DeepSeek-linked group obtained data output from OpenAI’s technology in an unauthorized manner.

It was reported security researchers working for Microsoft found in the fall of 2024 that DeepSeek may have exfiltrated a large amount of data using OpenAI’s application programming interface (API). Microsoft then notified OpenAI of the suspicious activity. Such activity could violate OpenAI’s terms of service or could indicate the group acted to get around OpenAI’s restrictions on how much data they could obtain, the report cited people familiar with the matter.

OpenAI’s investigation is one of latest signs that U.S. and its Western allies caution potential risks brought by DepSeek. The AI startup shook Silicon Valley and Wall Street these days with AI models deliver performance comparable to leading offerings at a fraction of the cost. DeepSeek jumped to the No.1 spot in app stores at weekend, dethroning OpenAI’s ChatGPT as the most downloaded free app in U.S. on Apple’s App Store.

In an interview with Fox News Tuesday, the White House AI and crypto “czar” David Sacks raised concerns about DeepSeek, noting “substantial evidence” that DeepSeek relied on the output of OpenAI’s models to help develop its own technology.

Asked about whether DeepSeek stole intellectual property from the U.S., Sacks said it is "possible." For Sacks, DeepSeek took advantage of the distillation process that allows student AI models interrogate parent models, mimic their logic, and "suck" their knowledge from them.

"There’s substantial evidence that what DeepSeek did here is they distilled the knowledge out of OpenAI’s models," Sacks said. "And I think one of the things you're going to see over the next few months is our leading AI companies taking steps to try and prevent distillation…that would definitely slow down some of these copycat models."

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt Tuesday said the National Security Council (NSC) is “looking into” the national security implications of DeepSeek application. Leavitt added that she had discussed with the NSC, which provides advice on national security and foreign policy matters for the U.S. president, earlier that day.

Leavitt at the press echoed American President Donald Trump’s comments Monday night, calling DeepSeek as a "wake-up call" for the U.S. AI industry. But the press secretary still felt confident as the White House is working to "ensure American AI dominance."

OpenAI said it has uncovered evidence that DeepSeek used its proprietary models to train a competing open-source model, potentially violating the company's terms of service", per a Financial Times report Tuesday. The issue is when you take it out of the platform and are doing it to create your own model for your own purposes," a source close to OpenAI told the British newspaper.