Britain Warned: Free Chinese AI Comes With Hidden Risks

Western countries face a growing threat from artificial intelligence developed in China and given to businesses and governments almost free of charge, analysts warn. Unlike Western technology, which comes with at least some effort to provide security and benign intent, Chinese AI offers no such guarantees. Every month, Chinese developers such as DeepSeek and Xiaomi release new versions of their "open-weight" models. These allow users to take the core software and run it without paying an expensive ongoing licence fee. The low cost makes these tools attractive. But experts say the savings may come at a price: reduced security and unclear intentions behind the technology.