The Group of Eight—seen as Australia’s Ivy League—has banned the use of the technology, citing the need to protect sensitive research and data.
A collective of Australia’s leading universities, known as the Group of Eight (Go8), has blocked staff and students from using the Chinese-owned artificial intelligence app DeepSeek.
It is this research that the universities say triggered the ban.
“The Group is 100 percent committed to protecting sensitive research and data, and will continue to update policies and procedures to navigate the rapidly changing landscape of technology and artificial intelligence,” Go8 stated in a Facebook post, quoting Chief Executive Vicki Thomson.
“We are committed to the ethical and responsible use of generative AI and to preparing our students, researchers, and staff to be leaders in an increasingly AI-enabled world.”
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“DeepSeek poses an unacceptable risk to the Australian government technology,” the government said.
The move aligns with similar actions taken by other countries and mirrors previous bans on high-risk apps like TikTok.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said the Albanese government was taking “swift and decisive action” to protect Australia’s national security interests.
“AI is a technology full of potential and opportunity—but the government will not hesitate to act when our agencies identify a national security risk,” he said.
Safeguarding Billions in Research Funding and Innovation
Go8 claims their graduates account for more than half of Australia’s doctors, dentists, and vets, while also producing 54 percent of science graduates and more than 40 percent of engineering graduates.
The group includes the University of Melbourne, Monash University, the University of Adelaide, the University of Western Australia, the Australian National University, the University of Sydney, UNSW Sydney, and the University of Queensland.
While equating AI to the Industrial Revolution in terms of its impact on society, the guideline also warns that the technology comes with ethical challenges and potential risks.
Go8 Graduate Involved in DeepSeek’s Development
The block comes despite the involvement of a Go8 graduate in DeepSeek’s development.
Zizheng Pan, an alumnus of two Go8 universities, completed a Master’s in computer science at the University of Adelaide in 2020 and gained a PhD in the same discipline at Monash four years later.
Despite being exempted from the Commonwealth Government’s ban, federally owned corporations NBN Co (which operates Australia’s National Broadband Network), the ABC, and Australia Post have banned DeepSeek from their internal systems. Major tech firms have also voluntarily limited access.
The country’s second-largest telco, Optus, said it had blocked its employees’ access to DeepSeek, while the largest, Telstra, said it had decided to limit access for staff.
Instead, it announced last month that it would invest $700 million in a joint venture with Accenture to develop its own large language model AI.
Meanwhile, Australia’s biggest financial institution, the Commonwealth Bank, said it did not plan to use Chinese AI.
