DeepSeek distilling US AI models: OpenAIBloombergOpenAI has warned US lawmakers that its Chinese rival DeepSeek (深度求索) is using unfair and increasingly sophisticated methods to extract results from leading US artificial intelligence (AI) models to train the next generation of its breakthrough R1 chatbot, a memo reviewed by Bloomberg News showed. In distillation, one AI model relies on the output of another for training purposes to develop similar capabilities. When capabilities are copied through distillation, OpenAI said, safeguards often fall to the wayside, enabling more widespread misuse of AI models in high-risk areas such as biology or chemistry. The company said an internal review suggests that accounts associated with DeepSeek employees sought to circumvent existing guardrails by accessing models through third-party routers to mask their source. DeepSeek employees have also developed code to access US AI models and obtain outputs in “programmatic ways,” OpenAI said.

Source: Taipei Times February 13, 2026 16:00 UTC