Finance ministry asks employees to not use ChatGPT, DeepSeek: Report
The advisory came ahead of OpenAI chief Sam Altman's visit to India, where he is also due to meet the IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
Union finance ministry has asked its employees to avoid using AI tools such as ChatGPT and DeepSeek for official purposes, news agency Reuters has reported, citing an internal department advisory.
The government has cited the risk posed to the confidentiality of government documents and data behind the move.
According to Reuters, reports of the advisory, dated January 29, surfaced on social media on Tuesday, ahead of OpenAI chief Sam Altman's visit to India on Wednesday, where he is also due to meet the IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
"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 by the union finance ministry said.
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Three unidentified finance ministry officials told Reuters that the note was genuine and that it had been issued internally this week.
Representatives of the finance ministry, ChatGPT-parent OpenAI and DeepSeek, however, did not immediately respond to Reuter's requests for comment.
It is unclear whether other ministries of the union government have issued similar directives.
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Several countries around that world have placed similar restrictions or warning on the use of DeepSeek, citing data security risks.
Earlier this week, Taiwan barred all of its government agencies and critical infrastructure service providers from using Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek’s technology, citing security concerns.
Taiwan’s digital ministry said that no official or confidential information should be used to query DeepSeek, given its Chinese origins. “It is a product that endangers national information security,” the ministry’s statement said.
US congressional offices have also been warned against installing the Chinese AI app DeepSeek. The United Kingdom also issued a similar warning to its citizens and businesses.
