DeepSeek shakes up AI sector – and other digital tech stories you need to know

A new open-source artificial intelligence (AI) model developed by Chinese start-up DeepSeek sent waves through the global tech community last month, offering similar performance to other leading models at a fraction of the cost. However, the breakthrough has not been without controversy.

On 27 January, the AI assistant surpassed ChatGPT to become the top-rated free app on the US Apple App Store, affecting the market values of major tech companies, including Nvidia.

Popularity of the model also led to outages and reports of a cyber-attack.

DeepSeek has claimed it's as powerful as ChatGPT’s o1 model in tasks like mathematics and coding, but uses less memory, cutting costs.

It also claims that training its AI assistant required less than $6 million in Nvidia’s computing power. While this figure has since been questioned, analysts believe the release could set new standards for future AI models in terms of efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

"DeepSeek has proven that cutting-edge AI models can be developed with limited computer resources," Wei Sun, principal AI analyst at Counterpoint Research, told the BBC.

But despite this, both Taiwan and Australia have moved to ban the use of the app on federal devices, citing security concerns.

US President Donald Trump described the launch as a “wake-up call” for US-based companies, while Sam Altman, CEO of Open AI, called the model “impressive” adding that he welcomed the competition.

Since returning to office last month, the US president has signed a series of executive orders aimed at boosting science and technology, Euronews reports.

The Trump administration has scrapped some previous policies and tasked officials with developing an AI action plan within six months to ensure systems are “free from ideological bias or engineered social agendas”.

President Trump also established the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), a 24-member group set to guide US leadership in AI, quantum energy, autonomous driving, drones and biotech.

And proposed Stargate, a $500 billion joint AI venture with OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank to build data centres in Texas. Microsoft, ARM and Nvidia are also expected to join.

In crypto, a new order allows individuals and companies to launch public blockchain networks without persecution and supports lawful, dollar-backed stablecoins to uphold US currency sovereignty.

However, the order also bans Central Bank Digital Currencies, citing risks to financial stability, individual privacy and US sovereignty.

On social media, Trump granted TikTok a 75-day extension to find a US buyer after a Congress-approved ban, upheld by the Supreme Court, caused a platform outage on 19 January.

The UK government has set out four new laws to tackle the threat of child sexual abuse images generated by AI. According to the Home Office, these rules will make the UK the first country where it will be illegal to possess, create or distribute AI tools designed to create child sexual abuse material, with a punishment of up to five years in prison.

Visa and X have partnered in a move to offer direct payment solutions for users. The agreement marks a key step in Elon Musk’s push to transform the social media platform into an “everything app” that will offer a broad range of services, according to Reuters.

AI technology will revolutionize fundamental physics, the incoming director general of Cern has said. Professor Mark Thompson, who will lead the European Organization for Nuclear Research from 2026, says the technology could advance particle physics, helping us understand the fate of the universe.

A significant percentage of US teenagers have been misled by AI-generated photos, videos or other internet content, a new study has shown. The report from non-profit advocacy group Common Sense Media found that 35% of 13-to-18-year-olds have been deceived by fake online content.

While 83% of executives see AI as a strategic priority for their organizations, there are significant variations in maturity and adoption across sectors. So, what is needed to go beyond AI’s promise of revolutionizing industries and tap into the technology’s potential? At the World Economic Forum’s Annual General Meeting 2025 a panel explored this question and more during the session 'Industries in the Intelligent Age'.

"I don't know that we've seen technology progress as fast as it has," said Matt Garman, Chief Executive Officer of Amazon Web Services. And I think one of the challenges of that is it's hard for everyone to keep up.” You can watch the full session here.