No, DeepSeek isn't uncensored if you run it locally | TechCrunch
techcrunch.com
DeepSeek's model is censored at both the application and training layers, a Wired investigation shows.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/28978937

There’s an idea floating around that DeepSeek’s well-documented censorship only exists at its application layer but goes away if you run it locally (that means downloading its AI model to your computer).

But DeepSeek’s censorship is baked-in, according to a Wired investigation which found that the model is censored on both the application and training levels.

For example, a locally run version of DeepSeek revealed to Wired thanks to its reasoning feature that it should “avoid mentioning” events like the Cultural Revolution and focus only on the “positive” aspects of the Chinese Communist Party.

A quick check by TechCrunch of a locally run version of DeepSeek available via Groq also showed clear censorship: DeepSeek happily answered a question about the Kent State shootings in the U.S., but replied “I cannot answer” when asked about what happened in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

  • threshold_dweller@lemmy.todayEnglish
    61·
    14 hours ago

    There are abliterated (decensored) distills now. So if you have the necessary hardware, DeepSeek can be run locally “uncensored”. So the title is technically true, in that the OG model isnt magically uncensored just because it is run locally, this is also misleading. E.g. Perplexity.ai offers a decensored version already.

    Anyone who can’t figure out the difference probably shouldn’t be writing articles about AI because the author is either ignorant or is pushing a narrative.