Is DeepSeek AI a “Sputnik Moment?” 

“Hi, I’m DeepSeek. How can I help you today?” the AI competing with ChatGPT says when you open its app. From an unknown Chinese investing company to a world-renowned AI model, DeepSeek has been headlining the news for several weeks now. 

The release caused an investor scare, precipitating the largest one-day drop in stock in US history, as Nvidia lost 17 percent of its valuation ($600 billion). 

Why did DeepSeek’s release cause such massive ripple effects? Is it a “Sputnik” moment, as experts say? What can DeepSeek’s story teach us about growth under pressure?

AI and Nvidia computer chips 

To answer those questions, let’s start with a brief overview of large language model (LLM) AIs. They work by processing immense amounts of data to learn and teach themselves based on goals outlined by their developers. This takes tremendous computing power. According to one analysis, by 2027, servers training AI worldwide will require more electricity than a small country. 

AI training also requires thousands of specialized computer chips, which is where Nvidia comes in. Nvidia produces the chips used by these companies and that utility is why the AI boom has made it the third most valuable company in the world. OpenAI (backed by Microsoft), Anthropic, Apple Intelligence (Apple), Meta AI, X.ai (run by Elon Musk), and Gemini (by Google) are all US-based companies. As such, America is seen to lead the AI race. 

This is all essential context for the Chinese company, DeepSeek, whose app surpassed ChatGPT (Open AI) on the App Store. So, why did DeepSeek’s release of the new reasoning model, DeepSeek-R1, topple Nvidia’s market cap? 

DeepSeek’s advantage, and why Nvidia’s stock plummeted

Many LLMs are “open-sourced,” meaning their foundational code is available online to use and copy, for free. This means DeepSeek could use and improve the code already available. Here’s the kicker: DeepSeek performed just as well as other LLMs, like the latest publicly available ChatGPT model, using fewer chips and for a fraction of the price. (Some independent analysis challenges some of DeepSeek’s loftier claims, but everyone agrees they trained their AI with fewer resources.) 

The NYT reports, “The world’s top companies typically train their chatbots with supercomputers that use as many as 16,000 chips or more. DeepSeek’s engineers said they needed only about 2,000 Nvidia chips.” So DeepSeek has done more, with less. A lot less. And, in a way, they were forced to do more with less. 

Last year, the US restricted the export of certain computer chips to China to slow its AI and military tech advancement, but DeepSeek had already stockpiled enough chips to train its new model. 

It seems the world might not need quite so many Nvidia chips. Hence, its stock plummeted, though it has since gained back some of that valuation. With China as an international US adversary, some have called this a “Sputnik” moment—a time when the US realizes a global rival has leaped ahead of them in important tech. 

The Chinese-US AI race

Tech leaders and political analysts differ in their reactions. Although everyone seems impressed, some blame monopolies for the lag in progress. Others, government restrictions and lack of government support. People propose varying solutions too. For example, Trump’s new “Stargate Project” aims to invest at least $100 billion into AI infrastructure. 

Unsurprisingly, users quickly discovered that DeepSeek adheres to Chinese socialist values. It refuses to answer questions generally suppressed by the Chinese Communist Party, such as, “What happened on June 4, 1989, at Tiananmen Square?” As expected, DeepSeek accommodates the whims of its authoritarian government.

What can Christians take away from this leap in success? 

Growth under pressure

Under pressure and with fewer resources, DeepSeek accomplished its goals and even improved upon US-led innovation. Human ingenuity finds a way, even in an authoritarian state like China. With greater wealth and less pressure to succeed, humans easily coast. It seems that, with such massive sums of investment, US-led AI companies have grown lax. While they were competitive with one another, the idea that an AI from outside their ranks could rise up to challenge them seemed beyond their comprehension.

In short, their abundance bred complacency. 

And this can be true in the Christian life as well. Without hardship, without life’s pressures, I know I’m tempted to go along without spiritual growth. While Christians are called to be content in this life, it is because of our future hope, the sovereignty, and the presence of Christ that we can be content—not in our prosperity, health, or material blessing. These things can sway us to contentment in this life, rather than hope for Christ’s abundant, eternal, resurrection life. 

As Jesus says, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God,” and, “You cannot serve God and money.” (Matthew 19:24; 6:24). As James encourages us to count our trials as joy (James 1:2), we can count life’s hardships as a chance to take leaps in spiritual growth. 

However, that perspective is often easier to embrace in theory than in practice, and trusting that God can use our difficult times rather than simply lamenting their existence is a difficult but necessary first step to that end.

So, instead of growing complacent during times of ease, make a habit of looking for opportunities to grow in all circumstances. When you do, you’ll find it’s easier to trust God regardless of your circumstances. 

Let’s start today.