What DeepSeeks Success Says About Chinas Ability to Nurture Talent

To many Chinese, DeepSeek’s success is a victory for China’s education system, proof that it equals that of the United States or has even surpassed it.The core team of developers and scientists behind DeepSeek, the Chinese start-up that has jolted the A.I.world, all attended university in China, according to the company’s founder.

That’s a contrast with many Chinese tech companies, which have often sought talent educated abroad.As Chinese commenters online basked in Americans’ shocked reactions, some pointed to the high number of science Ph.D.s that China produces annually.“DeepSeek’s success proves that our education is awesome,” read one blog post’s headline.Acclaim has even poured in from overseas.

Pavel Durov, the founder of the messaging platform Telegram, said last month that fierce competition in Chinese schools had fueled the country’s successes in artificial intelligence.“If the U.S.

doesn’t reform its education system, it risks ceding tech leadership to China,” he wrote online.The reality is more complicated.Yes, China has invested heavily in education, especially in science and technology, which has helped nurture a significant pool of talent, key to its ambition of becoming a world leader in A.I.

by 2023.But outside of the classroom, those graduates must also contend with obstacles that include a grinding corporate culture and the political whims of the ruling Communist Party.Under its current top leader, Xi Jinping, the party has emphasized control, rather than economic growth, and has been willing to crack down on tech firms it deems too influential.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

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