AI 'employees' help streamline city services

DeepSeek, a tech startup based in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, which surprised the world last month with the launch of its high-efficiency large reasoning model DeepSeek-R1, has announced the integration of artificial intelligence tools into government services in several Chinese cities.

While local governments are rushing to use DeepSeek's AI models to improve administration and governance, members of the public have mixed feelings about these developments.

Wei Jianzhang, vice-president of the Belt and Road Initiative's International Cooperation and Development Research Institute in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, said that while AI offers many advantages, such as improved efficiency and enhanced public services, it also comes with its fair share of challenges.