These people will keep pushing and pushing. They know this is ridiculous, but if they flood the public with this bullshit, eventually the overton window shifts and people get brainwashed into thinking cult shit like this is good.
this post was submitted on 03 Feb 2025
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I wasn't gonna, but now I gotta...
You laugh, but stay safe
Senator Josh Hawley was in his office, fumbling with a collection of outdated gadgets. His desk was cluttered with a clunky flip-phone, a ancient computer tower, and stacks of CDs labeled “Software for Dummies.” He had just been reading about this newfangled AI technology that everyone was buzzing about—though he wasn’t entirely sure what an AI was.
The phone rang, jolting him out of his thoughts. He fumbled with the flip-phone, trying to press the correct buttons to answer. When he finally managed to say “Hello,” his voice dripped with confusion.
“Senator Hawley, this is Greg from OpenAI. I wanted to discuss your proposed legislation about AI downloads,” the voice on the other end said.
Hawley leaned back in his chair, trying to look wise. “Legislation? Oh, right, that’s what they call laws these days. Something about jailing people who download stuff from China.”
Greg sighed. “It’s not just about downloading, Senator. It’s about AI models—complex software that can learn and adapt, like DeepSeek.”
Hawley’s brow furrowed. He hadn’t heard of DeepSeek before. “DeepSeek? That sounds communist to me. Probably tracking your thoughts or something.”
Greg tried to explain how AI works, but Hawley kept interrupting with questions about old technologies he thought were relevant. “So if someone downloads this AI, it’s like a CD-ROM, right? You just stick it in and hope it works?”
Greg pressed on, trying to translate the concept of cloud computing into terms Hawley might understand. “It’s more like... a virtual flip-phone that you can talk to without actually holding it.”
Hawley looked down at his desk, where his actual flip-phone was sitting. “I’m not sure I follow. Why would downloading this AI be bad?”
“Because DeepSeek is state-sponsored and could be used maliciously,” Greg said. “It’s like giving someone a modem to the Chinese government.”
Hawley brightened up. “Oh! Like that time I tried to use a dial-up connection? That was dangerous, wasn’t it? You didn’t know who was listening!”
Greg couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m not sure you’re understanding this correctly, Senator. This isn’t about phone calls or CDs—it’s about advanced algorithms that could change everything.”
Hawley stood up, clutching his flip-phone like it was a weapon. “Advanced? Sounds like the kind of thing that could be used to spy on people or start wars! Just like those CDs I tried to use once—they had some kind of communist software.”
Greg hesitated but decided to play along. “So you’re saying if someone downloads DeepSeek, they might be helping a foreign power? That’s why you want to jail them?”
Hawley nodded vigorously. “Exactly! It’s like having a modem without the filter. I propose jailing these people to protect our freedoms.”
Greg exchanged a glance with his colleague, who was now staring at him in disbelief. Finally, he said, “ Senator, this isn’t how technology works. If you jail people for downloading AI models, you’re not protecting innovation—you’re stifling it.”
Hawley squinted at Greg as if he were staring into the sun. “Stifle? I’m trying to stop something dangerous. You think I don’t know about this communist tech? I’ve seen it on the internet—full of viruses and stuff.”
Greg took a deep breath, realizing there was no way to reason with Hawley in this state. “Well, if that’s your stance, just remember: you’re not alone. There are people out there who think AI is a threat.”
Hawley smirked. “Good. People like me keep them in check.”
The call finally ended, and Greg sat back in his chair, shaking his head. “Senator Hawley is running for re-election,” he muttered to himself. “And if this bill passes, it’s going to be a nightmare.”
As for Senator Hawley, he was already back at his desk, scribbling notes about how to protect the country from “AI invasions.” He had no idea what he was up against—but one thing was certain: he was ready to fight.
Its open source lol. Why don't the tech billionaires innovate? Instead they just ban competitors
turns out all that shit about open markets, free trade, competition was just while they had no competition to exploit it after WW2 left Europe and Asia devastated, now that China (with their own protectionism) is doing it better than the US...back to protectionism and fascism.
Yes the ban on TikTok is working! We're getting more and more freer!!! The kids will be saved!!!! \s \s \s
"Victory for free speech (as long as it means only we get to talk")! /s
Land of the free
Land of the free only refers to owning guns.
This is astounding.
I mean, not the Deepseek or jailing stuff. I mean a Senator actually proposing a law. I thought the way our government worked was, the annoying orange declares a vague uncited threat to be bad, and signs an executive order on it!
No, we also allow mega corporations to submit bills that get rubber stamped by a rep somewhere. I don't think a corporation would be so audacious as to submit this, so it's a rare case of original content.
not back-dated so download away fellas (not sure if a law can apply on acts before it was a law)
Ex post facto laws are expressly prohibited in Article I, so they can't pass a law criminalizing downloads from before the law was passed.
They can, however, criminalize possessing a copy of DeepSeek. In that case you'd be legally required to delete it after the law passed.
They also can't amend the constitution via executive order or deport US citizens, but watch them try it anyway
Yup.
"they can't do that, that's illegal!"
Shame the law doesn't mean Jack Fucking Shit now.
The law is whatever they want it to be at any moment.
That order lasted about 10 minutes before a judge appointed by Ronald Fucking Reagan.
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In principle: no. But Americans no longer have any principles (or never did in the first place)
Download the model and run locally is the most secure and privacy friendly way to use it.
It's absurd how little they know about what they are doing.
I doubt they understand local vs server distinction.
"Server is when we ask Amazon to build a backdoor, local is when we ask Microsoft"
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I think the average IQ of republicans must be 20.
No, that's collective IQ
Because China "leveraged" US technology 20 years ago, US politicians bring it up as a current shittalking point still. Deepseek, being open source, is opportunity for Americans to gain technology transfer from China, without "stealing".
There is a desperation to protect US AI, mostly so that AI companies are indebted into serving the empire, and maybe the GOP,
Something AI is extremely capable today is deciding who to ban on reddit, or at the individual voter level, decide who should be turned away from elections. Recent US election had record voter suppression and forced provisional ballots that were never counted. Previously, black was a sufficient suppression incentive. AI makes it easy to target individuals or other factors. Musk, being praised for understanding "election machines", now with access to SS numbers and an ability to link to voters or views on Israel/genocide, is a super power that ensures being king maker in perpetuity.
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Lol rich coming from a class of people who can’t even open up a fucking pdf in their email
The desperation... It reeks
next up: US Bill proposed to jail people who watch MSNBC US Bill proposed to jail people who watch PBS US Bill proposed to jail people who don't buy a cybertruck US Bill proposed to jail people who don't vote GOP
So much freedom, so little time.
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That's awesome! I didn't know you could download an LLM and run it locally! That's what I'm really interested in is something that's on my side and not a conduit to Google, MS or other.
I'm so glad Hawley proposed this bill or I wouldn't have known that deepseek was open source and downloadable! I'll have to go look for a download.
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Fascist regime and power/police abuse has started.
P.S.: It seems like the US is becoming similar to Russia, kleptocratic country and organised crime in government.
to be fair for black Americans that is a centuries old tune
Most minorities — it’s the middle - upper class straight able bodied white people who are oblivious to it all.
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Every step unchallenged is an invitation to do more.
Saw this coming as soon as Microsoft immediately wanted to investigate.
Deepseek is going to be a Chinese military complex on the books shortly.
Wow, bold choice to ban the import of technology and knowledge. Usually governments are worried about export, so it doesn't fall into the wrong hands.
Btw, how is the Nvidia stock price doing?
To be fair, this is common practice. Countries do this all the time to protect their economies. Mostly known in the West is China which banned many US services.
Of course, security of the data of the citizens is also a factor. You don’t want foreign countries use this data to interfere in any way.
Honestly, I don't think this is common practice in non-oppressive countries. I mean sure, this happens in North Korea, Iran, China... But I'm relatively free to consume what I want with a few minor exceptions. For example we don't import food that isn't food-safe by our standards. Regardless if it's common practice to eat it in other places. Also food may not be able to enter the country due to laws on animal cruelty. Similar things apply to electronic devices that aren't up to code. And some select few things are banned altogether and you can't have them and neither can someone import them. Other than that, regulations aren't super strict. I can use all American social media platforms despite them stealing my personal data and violating European privacy laws regularly, can use Russian or Chinese websites... I think I live in a free country.
Helping domestic economy is done with tariffs / import tax. And not by banning things and putting people in jail.
And mind that this isn't about the service that collects your data and gives it to the Chinese government. This is about downloading the model file and using it all by yourself. So no data gets transferred to a foreign country. And it's not because people could get harmed or anything. This is just because the vice president doesn't want it personally. Like in some dictatorship. Otherwise they would have banned transferring data into foreign countries, if that's what it's about. But they didn't do that, because it's not about protecting the people.
Or did I miss something and there are other examples for limitations on import?
No, I think you did not miss anything 😇
Good summary
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now i gotta download something i don't even wanna download.
Yup. Downloaded 7b, 32b, and 70b varieties this afternoon. Entirely out of spite.
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Well I guess that means its time to download it even though I don't know what I'll do with it.
God, I hate Hawley. He’s an embarrassment to my state.
He doesn’t even live in Missouri.
You wouldn't download a car and then perform all the necessary lost wax casting, pressing, punching, machining, painting etc etc. Would you?
No!
You would download a finished car!
Hawley’s statement called DeepSeek “a data-harvesting, low-cost AI model that sparked international concern and sent American technology stocks plummeting.”
data-harvesting
???
It runs offline... using open-source software that provably does not collect or transmit any data...
It is low-cost and out-competes American technology, though, true
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For Base Model
git lfs install git clone https://huggingface.co/deepseek-ai/DeepSeek-V3-Base
For Chat Model
git lfs install git clone https://huggingface.co/deepseek-ai/DeepSeek-V3
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