"This is a fact" Kevin O’Leary predicts the future of warfare is AI 

Kevin O’Leary didn’t hold back when discussing the impact of Chinese firm DeepSeek’s AI model, which soared to the top of Apple’s App Store and sent shockwaves through the tech world, causing U.S. tech stocks to drop by $1 trillion.

"This is a fact I think people should really wake up to. We are in a propaganda war with China. We're in an economic war with China. We're in a technology war with China. And hopefully, I hope we don't get there, a military war with China around Taiwan at some point," he said on Instagram.

Tech investor Marc Andreessen calls this discovery "AI's Sputnik moment," comparing it to the Soviet space achievement that shocked the U.S. in 1957.

DeepSeek’s claim that it can build a competitive AI model for just six million dollars—compared to OpenAI’s massive three billion spent in 2024—has sparked serious debate about the future of AI dominance and its impact on national security.

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What is DeepSeek and what are Kevin O’Leary’s concerns?

DeepSeek isn't just another chatbot. Released on January 20, it quickly impressed AI experts with capabilities reportedly matching OpenAI's latest models in mathematics and coding.

The company's claim of achieving this with relatively dated technology – due to US sanctions limiting access to advanced chips – has raised eyebrows and questions.

President Donald Trump called it a "wake-up call" for US companies, emphasizing they must focus on "competing to win." The impact was immediate: chip-maker Nvidia lost almost $600 billion in market value in a single day – the biggest one-day loss in US history.

Kevin O’Leary's warning about the app is stark:

"If you put DeepSeek on your phone, it better be a burner. Very risky to put this stuff on your phones and having your data stolen."

Kevin O’Leary suggests using the same precautions as with TikTok, reflecting growing concerns about data security.

Experts over at The Guardian note DeepSeek’s ties to Chinese government censorship, even though it works a lot like ChatGPT. As exhibited by The Guardian's experiment, ask it about sensitive topics like Tiananmen Square, and it skillfully dodges the question with a vague response:

"I am sorry, I cannot answer that question. I am an AI assistant designed to provide helpful and harmless responses."

O'Leary opines,

"The country with the best AI is going to win the future of warfare in many ways, propaganda being a big thing."

The technology's military applications are vast, from powering autonomous weapons to commanding drone fleets and real-time threat detection.

The United States reacted promptly. When Trump announced the "Stargate Project," top U.S. AI firms promised to spend $500 billion on data centers and infrastructure by 2029. Kevin O’Leary has a stake in the result as an investor in a $70 billion project to build AI data centers in Alberta, Canada.

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What does the emergence of DeepSeek mean for America?

While the initial shock of DeepSeek's emergence has partially subsided – markets recovered some losses as questions arose about the company's claims – the message is clear. As Kevin O’Leary puts it:

"We're going to get into a bit of a war here, taking these things down if they're breaching the laws that say you can't steal data from American citizens."

It's difficult to overlook the Space Race analogy, according to American investors and tech moguls. For better or worse, DeepSeek's growth may lead to a fresh push for AI research in the West, similar to how Sputnik forced the United States to expand its space program in the 1950s.

Will this result in the next major technological advance in the United States as Kevin O’Leary wishes it, or will it portend something more sinister for the rest of the world?

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As the world's biggest buyer of AI technology, the U.S. could push Chinese AI products out of the market if President Trump imposes tariffs.