Finance ministry prohibits employees from using ChatGPT, DeepSeek on govt devices
New Delhi, Feb 5, 2025
Ministry of finance has instructed its employees not to use AI tools such as ChatGPT and DeepSeek on office devices, citing confidentiality risks. A memo issued last month emphasized the potential dangers AI tools pose to government data. This follows similar actions by Australia and Italy over privacy concerns. Meanwhile, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman visits India as DeepSeek garners attention for its low-cost, efficient AI offerings.
Ministry of finance has prohibited its employees to refrain from using AI tools and applications like ChatGPT and DeepSeek on office computers and devices.
In a communication issued last month to all departments, the ministry stressed that the use of AI tools and apps must be strictly prohibited on office devices.
Ministry's department of expenditure, in a memo dated January 29, said that AI tools and app in the office computers and devices pose risks for confidentiality of data and documents.
"It has been determined that AI tools and AI apps (such as ChatGPT, DeepSeek etc) in the office computers and devices pose risks for confidentiality of Govt, data and documents," the memo read.
Meanwhile, Australia and Italy have also shielded their official systems from Chinese DeepSeek over privacy and data security concerns.
This comes as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is on a tour to India and participated in a fireside chat on Wednesday morning. He is also meeting top government officials and industry leaders.
At around $6 million, DeepSeek's most recent AI offering has garnered global attention because of its low cost compared to the global norm of billions of dollars. Additionally, DeepSeek's R1 uses only a fraction of the compute power required by well-known AI models like ChatGPT.
Last week, the US tech industry, which has long justified investing billions of dollars in AI, watched in disbelief as DeepSeek surpassed ChatGPT as the most popular free app on Apple's Appstore.
[The Times of India]
