China’s well-known AI company, DeepSeek, made a rare public appearance after almost a year of silence. One of its top researchers, Chen Deli, spoke openly at the World Internet Conference in Wuzhen. He said he was very positive about how amazing AI technology is, but also worried about what it might do to society in the long run.
Chen appeared on stage with leaders from five other Chinese AI companies, including Unitree and BrainCo. Together, these six companies are called China’s “six little dragons” because they are leading the country’s growing AI scene.
When asked about DeepSeek’s global success and its decision to share its technology openly, Chen didn’t sound overly confident. He said that AI is helping humans a lot right now, but in the next few years, it could cause big problems for jobs. He explained that within five to ten years, AI might become advanced enough to replace many kinds of human work. And in the next ten to twenty years, it could take over most jobs entirely. He said this could become a huge challenge for society and that tech companies should act responsibly and protect people’s interests.
Chen said he still believes in AI’s potential to do good things but remains worried about how it could change social systems and people’s lives.
DeepSeek became famous worldwide in January 2025 when it launched a powerful and affordable AI model that performed better than some top American systems. This success brought global attention and showed how far China had come in technology, especially as tensions with the U.S. over tech continued to rise.
After that, the company mostly stayed quiet. Its CEO, Liang Wenfeng, was last seen in February when he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a televised event with entrepreneurs. Since then, DeepSeek has skipped most major tech gatherings, keeping a low profile even as it continues to play an important role in China’s AI race.
In September, DeepSeek released an upgraded version of its V3 AI model. It called it an experimental version that learns faster and handles long pieces of text better. The company has also been working closely with the government’s plan to make China’s own computer chips stronger. Its AI models now run on hardware made by Huawei and Cambricon, two of China’s biggest chip companies.
In August, when DeepSeek announced a model designed specifically for Chinese chips, investors became very excited. This caused Chinese semiconductor stocks to rise sharply, showing strong confidence in China’s push to depend less on U.S. technology.
Even though DeepSeek hasn’t launched another big AI model since January, its work still influences China’s AI goals and the global debate around open-source development, self-reliance, and the moral side of artificial intelligence.