By Philip Yeung
China's DeepSeek moment
These days, one word is on the lips of 1.4 billion Chinese: DeepSeek.
China's Sputnik moment
The Soviet Union had its Sputnik moment in the 1950s by launching its Sputnik satellite into space, sending America into a panic. Today, China has done the same with the DeepSeek shockwaves, but there is a difference. The Soviet space triumph was up there, the Chinese technology is down here at the grassroots level. "As above, so below".
The pride of 1.4 billion people
DeepSeek is the pride of 1.4 billion people. It brings broad smiles to their faces, boosting their national ego to stratospheric levels. The DeepSeek revenge is all the sweeter because it did not hire a single graduate from MIT, Harvard or Stanford. Its team consists exclusively of homegrown tech talents on a shoestring budget.
DeepSeek is a stinging slap in the face of US technological supremacy. Even Trump has called it "a wake-up call."
The Chinese do technology differently
What's more, the Chinese do technology differently. Contrary to its previous literary tradition, this is no ivory tower pursuit. Its technological breakthroughs have trickled down to the kitchen table.
Technically still a developing country—technologically already a superpower
China defies classification. Technically, it is still considered a developing country. But technologically, it belongs to the league of scientific superpowers. Technology has transformed the way Chinese people live, the way they shop, the way they communicate, and the way they do business. Yet, its personal GDP still lags behind advanced economies by a country mile, but spending power is a different kettle of fish.
In China, when a new technology hits the market, it carries its people along with it. It creeps into homes, shopping malls and offices, producing tens of millions of digital natives. The Chinese experience technology as a way of life.
The DeepSeek magic
The DeepSeek revolution has a magic all its own. It not only dominates labs and halls of learning but has made inroads into the lives of the working class, including waitresses and their managers. DeepSeek is deep into their conversations and livelihoods.
A perfect rags-to-riches story
DeepSeek is a perfect rags-to-riches story. Its creator came from a poor village that had overnight become the hottest tourist attraction in China. People flock there from everywhere to pay homage to their nerdy hero who has the weird power to move heaven and earth. In a matter of weeks, roads have sprung up, snaking into the heart of the village. Liang Wenfeng, the father of DeepSeek, returned home to a huge hero's welcome, rewriting personal and ancestral history and glory.
Liang personifies the China Dream
Liang personifies the China Dream - an ordinary joe who has hit the big time on the world's biggest stage - far bigger than claiming top honors in the old imperial examinations. Liang's theatre is the planet, far beyond the Chinese civilization.
DeepSeek's planetary power
DeepSeek's impact is planetary. Overnight, Zhejiang University has overtaken Tsinghua and Beida as China's top-ranked universities, knocking both off their pedestal as permanent leaders in higher education. It has also made members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences squirm, as their innovative achievements have been dwarfed by an unknown young upstart.
DeepSeek is an act of national salvation
DeepSeek's arrival was timed exquisitely, when China was feeling the painful after-effects of US sanctions and embargoes that have restricted its access to advanced Western digital technology. Paradoxically, US protective measures have the opposite effect, pushing China into a frenzy of self-invention and technological self-sufficiency. DeepSeek tells the world, loud and proud, that China can go it alone, cheaper, better, and smarter.
DeepSeek has electrified the Chinese scientific community
Its triumphal arrival has spurred other Chinese researchers to step on the pedal. Week after week, wave after wave of innovative products have suddenly washed up on Chinese shores. A powerful counter-punch for national dignity, it is redefining the rules of international technological engagement. First TikTok, and now DeepSeek. They have left US tech overlords reeling from their perches.
DeepSeek as an engine of educational innovation
DeepSeek has catapulted education reform to a new dimension. It signs the death warrant for traditional rote learning. Creativity is the new coin of the realm, upending the way we teach and learn. When DeepSeek is on the lips of waitresses, you know that the future is here. This once sleepy ancient civilization has leapfrogged to the outer limits of human ingenuity. Bravo!
The views do not necessarily reflect those of DotDotNews.
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