- New AI chatbot has caused chaos on US markets
- Company claims it uses less energy than competitors
- Will it have a positive impact on the environment?
Tech has dominated the news headlines so far in 2025, be it TikTok’s proposed ban and subsequent reprieve or Tesla CEO Elon Musk using X to support US president Donald Trump and right-wing politicians in the UK and Europe.
The latest story is DeepSeek, an AI platform that few outside the tech world had heard of before it caused a record-breaking day on the US stock market as some of the world’s most recognisable corporate names suffered staggering losses.
At the time of writing, DeepSeek is the most popular AI product in the UK, and is the topic of in-depth commentary online and on TV.
A great many people are aware of what AI is and how it works, but its effect on the environment is a bit more complex, with its potential for climate analysis stacked up against the amount of resources it needs to function.
We’ve put together this article looking at what DeepSeek is and asked if it is good for the planet.
What is DeepSeek?
Founded in China in 2023, DeepSeek is a free, AI-powered chatbot, and it works in a very similar way to other, more established programmes, such as ChatGPT, using online information to answer questions and draft essays and much else.
According to reports, DeepSeek is a tiny tech company with just 200 people, but its technology has impressed AI experts and users with its high functionality and efficiency.
The difference in how DeepSeek works compared to other AI platforms is that it condensed the number of parameters it uses to respond to users’ questions. How it did so remains unclear, but the result is that it used far less money and energy than its competitors.
This revelation has shocked US stock markets, causing some of the biggest tech companies to lose more than £800bn on Monday 27 January.
Chipmaker Nvidia reportedly lost more than £480bn, the single biggest drop in the history of US stock markets.
President Donald Trump has described DeepSeek’s as a “wake-up call” for US companies, such has been the effect on the tech industry.
There are also geopolitical questions surrounding the US’ battle with China for tech supremacy as Beijing has made advanced technology, including microchips, AI and electric vehicles (EV) a strategic priority, particularly just a few weeks after TikTok won a reprieve from the US government.
Is it more eco-friendly than other AI software?
Yes, if reports are to be believed then DeepSeek is more eco-friendly than other AI because it requires less energy to use and also fewer chips.
As stated above, DeeSeek’s unprecedented effect on US tech markets is ultimately down to cost and computer resources, in other words, what it can do and how much money it needs to do so, and also its effect on carbon emissions.
This is critically important for the future of AI as the technology needs, or at least it was previously believed, a monumental amount of electricity to function.
The burden on the planet is such that AI data centres are believed to account for as much as 2% of global electricity consumption.
In December 2024, DeepSeek released its V3 language model and followed this with its R1 model on 20 January 2025.
It is the V3 that is causing all the excitement, and it cost a reported £4.4mn to train and develop, which is a fraction of what OpenAI needed to make the GPT-4, which reached more than £80mn.
Additionally, DeepSeek says it only used around 2,000 computer chips, far fewer than the industry average of 16,000 chips which are used to create a similar open-source AI platform.
In simple terms, DeepSeek can reportedly do exactly what other, far larger AI companies can do, just for a lot less money and by not doing nearly as much damage to the planet.
The effect on the environment might even be seen a lot further up the supply chain. If AI needs fewer chips, that means it means it doesn’t require as many rare earth minerals, the result being less mining, production and shipping activity.
Do people in the UK think AI can fight climate change?
In the 2024 National Home Energy Survey (NHES), homeowners in the UK, while being positive about low-carbon technology, said they were sceptical about the effect AI could have on fighting climate change.
According to the NHES, 59% of people express some form of scepticism about AI when it comes to fighting climate change. This could be related to a lack of knowledge about AI itself or concerns about its effects on carbon emissions.
However, if DeepSeek’s platforms prove to be as cheap and environmentally friendly as it makes out, it could fundamentally change the perception of AI and the environment.
Summary
- DeepSeek claims to use far less energy and chips to work, which means it could be a positive for the planet
- The Chinese company’s methods of producing high-tech AI at lower cost are unclear
- Billions has been wiped off international markets as a result of DeepSeek’s technology
- The British public is unconvinced about AI’s potential to help the planet
