DeepSeek, a China-based AI startup, has quickly attracted global attention – both positive and negative – due to the release of its open-source AI model and its overall innovative approach to AI development. What sets DeepSeek apart from competitors like OpenAI isn’t just the sophistication of its models, but also its ability to offer these powerful tools at a fraction of the cost. By making their models open-source, DeepSeek is not only advancing AI capabilities but also promoting a more democratized ecosystem. This allows smaller companies and organizations to access cutting-edge AI technology without the prohibitive costs that typically limit their ability to innovate.
Potential Engineering Efficiencies and Affordability to Come
While it’s exciting that DeepSeek has found a way to reduce operating costs for more advanced models, it’s still early in the development process. Many questions around its security need to be addressed before regulated industries, such as insurance or AI-powered solution providers in these sectors, can confidently leverage it.
It's important to approach this emerging technology with a balanced perspective. Like any new technology, there are legitimate concerns about security and regulatory compliance. While DeepSeek’s models show promising potential for cost reductions and performance improvements, there are still critical issues to resolve regarding the handling of sensitive data and the associated liabilities.
This week, cybersecurity firm Wiz, based in New York, revealed that DeepSeek's databases were found to be openly accessible on the internet, potentially exposing sensitive information such as chat histories.
As organizations and AI solution providers consider using DeepSeek’s models, they must carefully evaluate their data security needs and ensure they meet compliance and regulatory standards. For industries where security and reputation are paramount, hosting technology within secure, regulated environments is non-negotiable.
The Future of AI in Insurance Is Bright
Continued innovations like these are poised to reshape the power dynamics in the AI space, shifting the benefits from foundational model creators to AI solution providers, and ultimately empowering their customers. This evolution holds immense potential to make AI technologies more affordable and accessible, allowing a wider range of organizations—especially in sectors like insurance—to leverage AI’s vast capabilities for streamlining operations and driving efficiencies.
While companies like DeepSeek have made significant strides in developing powerful models and demonstrating how to teach them general tasks like math and coding, our focus at Roots goes further. We are dedicated to creating smarter models that not only perform technical tasks but also truly understand the complexities of the insurance industry. Where DeepSeek has laid the foundation by teaching models "Gen Ed" skills, we provide the "professional training" these models need to excel at highly specialized tasks like underwriting, claims processing, and risk assessments. With our deep expertise in insurance processes and a genuine passion for understanding our customers' business needs, we’re uniquely equipped to take these foundational models and tailor them to make a real impact in the insurance industry.
At Roots, where we prioritize security, control, and responsible AI usage, our teams are eager to explore and build upon similar models. We’re committed to hosting these innovations securely in-house within our own infrastructure. This ensures that customer data remains protected and never exposed to third-party systems outside of our secure cloud environment.