RedNote and DeepSeek’s challenge to Silicon Valley is a good change

Contributed by Joe Montero

What an incredible carry on there is over the just released new Chinese AI chatbot app. DeepSeek immediately caused the United Sate’s Silicon Valley to lose almost a trillion dollars form the fall in their share values. The reason? DeepSeek outperforms the rest and costs about a tenth as much to the consumer, for it has pioneered a new more sophisticated and cheaper way to produce its app. This is now the top selling app on the Apple Store.

This comes on the heels of the United States ban (and then temporary re-instatement on TikTok, which president Donald Trump wants to be American owned. This has driven huge numbers of customers, especially younger ones to switch to RedNote, which also happens to be a Chinese app.

Photo from Getty

RedNote is having an effect. Americans are connecting to their Chinese counterparts, exchanging information, and finding out that many Chinese have a better life than they do. The impact of this is significant. Americans are discovering that their political leaders and media have been lying to them for a long time.

Other than this, the arrival of DeepSeek and RedNote have proved that China has jumped to a global lead on computer technology and AI, and this is scaring some people. The Silicon Valley companies are obviously part of this group. But there are others.

China’s lead, especially the proof on its ability to manufacture microchips of the most advanced kind translates into overall superiority in manufacturing, communications, systems, transport, and more. It points out that China is advancing economically at a faster rate than anyone else. United States dominance over the global economy is being challenged.

This is what is behind new calls to curtail China’s advancement, and paradoxically, the loudest voice is from the self-styled Neoliberal champions of the free market and free trade. They only believe in either when it’s convenient.

The same is being reflected in Australia. Fear of the Chinese apps are being fanned. Stories on the ABC and Murdoch media downplay the capability of DeepSeek and warn about RedNote. They rehash the lie that Chinese technology means being spied upon and subjected to Chinese propaganda. The Australian and American authorities are themselves guilty of this, and they are the ones that can use it against us.

Australia’s Housing Minister Clare O’Neil has urged people to be careful about the app.

“The app only came out in the last couple of days … so what our national security agencies will be doing at the moment is having a look at the settings of the app and understanding more about how it works before it issues some formal guidance to Australians about care that they need to take,” she told Sunrise.

 Liberal frontbencher Jane Hume said the government should make its advice about DeepSeek “explicit”.

“We want to keep Australians safe. There’s plenty of opportunities … in AI, both professionally and personally. But we would urge caution on this one,” she said.

Expect other politicians to start kicking this can soon.

Is it better to continue to be dominated by the Silicon Valley companies which steal our private information and use it for their own advantage, or to have other players on the scene to keep them on their toes, and take better care of the customers who hand over billions to them every year?

Be the first to comment on "RedNote and DeepSeek’s challenge to Silicon Valley is a good change"

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Follow by Email