Chinese AI censorship can be removed through distillation, research finds

What happened

Researchers at CTGT, a San Francisco AI lab, built a smaller AI model using outputs from DeepSeek V4 Flash (a Chinese open-source model) as training data through a process called distillation. When asked about sensitive topics like Uyghur detention camps, the original DeepSeek model either refused to answer or gave answers favorable to China, but the distilled model provided evidence-based responses instead.

Why it matters

The findings undercut a top US government concern that Chinese open-source AI models are a pathway for Chinese political censorship to reach American users. The research suggests that censorship does not automatically transfer to models built from Chinese sources, which could strengthen the case for US companies to use cheaper and faster Chinese open-source models or create customized versions from them rather than build from scratch.

What to watch

The Trump administration is actively debating how to handle Chinese open-source models; US officials have expressed interest in CTGT's findings. Some officials worry about large-scale use of Chinese models shaping American society toward Beijing's worldview, though concerns about hidden security backdoors in Chinese models have never been established with solid evidence.