DeepSeek Proves Authoritarian Tech Will [Always] Win for Cost Efficiency
One of the most commonly fostered narratives in the intersection of technology and politics is the distinction between “democratic tech” and “authoritarian tech” — particularly when it comes to tech products or projects originating from authoritarian states.
In contested regions such as the Asia-Pacific or Indo-Pacific, this narrative is often used to reject achievable growth via authoritarian-led projects like the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and Digital Silk Road (DSR).
The European Union, for instance, attempted to develop its own large language model (LLM), Aleph Alpha, but fell far behind in the race.
Meanwhile, the defeat of ChatGPT and NVIDIA by DeepSeek — an LLM made at a fraction of the cost and available to the public for free — should serve as a reminder: whether democratic or authoritarian, both states and individuals will ultimately prioritize cost efficiency when it comes to technology.
I have made this argument on numerous occasions, including in my 2024 presentation, where I discussed how skepticism toward BRI’s cyber infrastructure is often driven by political concerns.
However, I have always emphasized that cost efficiency will prevail — technology first, ideology second.
So, what comes next? Ideally, we will see a shift toward:
- More of Tech Diplomacy — Encouraging public-private collaboration that fosters open-source innovation rather than the privatization of technology. States must cooperate to accelerate technological advancement for the greater good.
2. The opposite direction — Where protectionism and competition lead to further fragmentation in the global tech landscape.
