The shock of DeepSeek is still reverberating around the world - surprise, worry, concern and optimism are intertwined. From the perspective of AI innovation and practical application scenarios, I agree with AMD CEO Lisa Hsu's point of view: open source is the key to the real prosperity of AI.

This is especially true for those who have been working in AI for a long time and gradually moving to the decentralized AI field based on blockchain, especially when we witness the problems caused by the initial centralized model. This article will explore the open source logic behind DeepSeek and decentralized AI (DeAI), as well as the many benefits of this model for the development of AI.

Towards collaboration, not doomsday

The latest news shows that DeepSeek announced plans to open source five code bases, including the R1 inference model. The newly released open source code will provide infrastructure support for DeepSeek's previously public AI models and further expand the existing open source model framework.

Unlike OpenAI's ChatGPT and Anthropic's Claude, DeepSeek is open source - meaning anyone can download, copy and build on it. Its code and detailed technical documentation are freely available, and developers and institutions around the world can access, modify and apply it.

In contrast, although Meta and Google have made some AI models available to the public, they are not truly open source projects. The use of these models is restricted by licensing agreements, and their training data sets are not fully public.

This is in stark contrast to the smartphone era, where companies such as Apple have successfully taken the lead in mobile innovation by controlling the ecosystem and setting standards. However, in the field of AI, the situation is completely different. The success of AI relies on collective contributions, requiring large and diverse data sets and continuous collaboration. These elements can only be achieved in a decentralized environment. A single entity cannot monopolize all the necessary data and expertise to advance AI.

The open source logic embodied by DeepSeek is highly consistent with the concept of decentralized AI (DeAI) projects based on blockchain technology, which is driving the AI ecosystem towards a more transparent, collaborative and decentralized direction. These DeAI projects aim to utilize the distributed ledger system of blockchain to address the limitations of centralized models.

Blockchain technology ensures that the ownership of data and models is decentralized, preventing large companies from monopolizing AI technology. By combining blockchain with AI, projects can enhance transparency - every transaction, data input, and any changes to the AI model can be recorded in an unalterable way, forming a verifiable history, ensuring that all stakeholders in the AI development process can clearly understand the context of the changes.

In addition, blockchain not only improves transparency, but also changes the incentive mechanism of AI models. In the DeAI model, contributors are usually rewarded accordingly, whether they write code, provide data, or optimize model parameters. Smart contracts on the blockchain platform enable fair, automated, and transparent reward distribution. For example, in a DeAI ecosystem, contributors who optimize models or provide high-quality data sets can receive token rewards, thus ensuring a virtuous cycle for the entire system.

Through open source and transparent code, DeepSeek promotes a new paradigm - AI is no longer constrained by high paywalls and proprietary systems, but through the open source model, more people can participate in improving and expanding the technology. This approach ensures that AI breakthroughs will not be monopolized by a few corporate giants, but will be open to everyone who is willing to contribute.

In the current environment full of hype and exaggeration, we need to step back and see the bigger picture. The birth of DeepSeek is a milestone worth celebrating, reminding us that the future of AI belongs to open, collaborative and shared progress. The real victory in the future will be that all participants, regardless of nationality and resources, can contribute to the development of AI and benefit millions of users around the world.

For example, in the medical field, the open source nature of AI projects allows doctors, researchers, and AI experts to jointly develop diagnostic tools, medical imaging systems, and patient care models. This model has spawned AI-driven platforms that can detect diseases such as cancer at an early stage, thereby improving treatment outcomes. In the field of supply chain management, the blockchain-based DeAI system enables transparent tracking of goods from manufacturers to consumers. By recording each link on a decentralized ledger, it ensures that the product source meets ethical requirements and provides accurate product information.

DeepSeek accelerates the implementation of decentralized AI

The emergence of DeepSeek marks the potential of decentralized AI being unleashed. It shows the world that the development of AI does not necessarily need to rely on centralized resources to succeed.

DeepSeek has not only attracted widespread attention, but more importantly, it is pushing people to rethink the efficiency limits of AI models. At the same time, it has also triggered new imaginations and breakthroughs in the three core driving forces of AI: computing, storage, and data. Ultimately, the arrival of DeepSeek has not only expanded the market, but is also accelerating the popularization of AI and decentralized AI.

Author: Dr. Chong Li, founder of OORT and professor at Columbia University

Originally published in Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2025/02/28/deepseeks-lesson-the-future-of-ai-is-decentralized-and-open-source/