Finance ministry warns staff against using ChatGPT, DeepSeek as Sam Altman says India should be AI leader

The ministry has warned its employees about the risk to confidentiality of government data and documents while using AI tools like ChatGPT and DeepSeek

Sam Altman and Ashwini Vaishnaw Union Minister of Information & Broadcasting and Electronics & Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman | PTI

The Union finance ministry has asked employees not to use ChatGPT and DeepSeek for official uses amid OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's India visit. Altman said India should play a leading role in artificial intelligence sector.

In a finance department adivisory dated January 29, the ministry warned of risk to confidentiality of government 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 (government) data and documents," the advisory stated.

The advisory surfaced ahead of Altman's meeting with IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday. Altman said India's role in AI is growing, pointing out that the country is OpenAI's second largest market. 

His comments came amid the entry of Chinese rival DeepSeek and were in contrast with his earlier remarks about India's AI models. In 2023, Altman claimed that India's chances of building competitive AI models are "hopeless". 

Minister Vaishnaw earlier said India would be able to develop its own high-end computing chipset caled GPUs in three to five years, adding that a local foundational AI tool could be possible in 10 months.

Vaishnaw earlier also praised DeepSeek for its low-cost AI tool and even went on to compare its frugal approach to India's efforts to build a localised AI model. "Our country sent a mission to the moon at a friction of the cost that many other countries did right, why can't we do a model that will be a fraction of the cost that many others do?" he had asked.

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