finance ministry Asks employees not to use deepseek, ChatGpt
what has happened
The Ministry of Finance has advised government officials to "strictly avoid" Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, including ChatGPT and DeepSeek, on official devices as they "pose risks for confidentiality of government data and documents". DeepSeek, developed by China, was launched in January 2025.The circular, accessed by The Hindu, was issued by the Depart of Expenditure (DoE) on January 29, 2025. "It has been determined that Al tools and AI Apps (such as ChatGPT, DeepSeek etc.) in the office computers and devices pose risks for confidentiality of Govt. data and documents. It is, therefore, advised that use of AI tools/AI Apps in office devices may be strictly avoided. This may be brought to the notice of all employees. This issues with the approval of Finance Secretary," an order by Pradeep Kumar Singh, Joint Secretary, DoE said.
TRAINING SESSION FOR OFFICIALS
The DoE's circular comes months after another Central government office, the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), Organised a training session for officials in the rank of Joint Secretary and below, including Directors and Deputy Secretaries, on the use of 'ChatGPT-4 Plus'. The circular to DoPT officials was sent on October 10, 2024, and the training was held from October 14-16 of the same year in seven batches.
It is not clear if other Ministries or Central government departments received similar orders restricting the use of AI tools.
WHY IT MATTERS?
DeepSeek finds itself under scrutiny from regulators across the world only days its Al models and chatbot app went viral. A few countries have banned the government use of the Chinese startup's Al technology. Watchdogs of European countries such as Ireland, France, Belgium, and Netherlands have raised concerns about the DeepSeek app's data collection practices.