Chinese Professor Shen Yi's Bold Vision And Its Global Implications: DeepSeek, The Digital Silk Road, And China's AI Gambit

Chinese professor and social media influencer Shen Yi recently made waves by declaring that China's DeepSeek AI has shattered Western dominance in artificial intelligence and could revolutionize global AI development through the Belt and Road Initiative's Digital Silk Road. He envisions a world where developing nations can leverage China's open-source AI models and indigenous chip manufacturing to bypass American technological restrictions.

In a video posted on Bilibili on February 4, 2025, Shen frames DeepSeek as a liberating force, offering countries an alternative to Silicon Valley's control over AI infrastructure.

Shen Yi: "This thing [DeepSeek] has completely shattered the so-called 'Western superiority' ideology that Silicon Valley elites have been pushing in artificial intelligence. It has directly broken through laterally, because they have absolutely no way to counter it. And what's the most critical part? DeepSeek has gone open source."

Interviewer: "Yes."

Shen: "DeepSeek has gone open source. Let me put it bluntly: Have you ever considered the combination of DeepSeek and the Belt and Road Initiative?"

Interviewer: "Oh, this just got big..."

Shen: "The Chinese government's Belt and Road Digital Silk Road initiative could support all participating countries in developing and using their own autonomous... Didn't you call it 'sovereign AI'? That wasn't my term, that was Jensen Huang's, not mine. Because whenever China coins a new term, it's accused of stirring up trouble, right? But they, you said it. Now I'm here to help you realize it. How? China will law the critical infrastructure for you. DeepSeek is open-source software – if you prefer buying Chinese chips, go ahead. If you want American chips, that's fine too. We provide the methods, and we collaborate on applications. So, are you in or not?"

Interviewer: "Definitely in with this."

Shen: "After you play hardball, let me tell you – DeepSeek can run on the Tier-2 chips that the U.S. has restricted from export to China. It can also run on domestically produced Chinese chips. And if you use Chinese-made chips, you won't be bound by America's AI chip export restrictions. You know that the AI 3-tier system they set up – Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3? Most Belt and Road countries fall under Tier 2. But with China's chips, you won't be subject to those dollar-amount chip restrictions, and you also don't need to worry that all the money you earn from GDP over the next 20-30 years will do towards feeding this electricity-hungry monster. Are you going to work with China or not?"

Interviewer: "They are going to."

Shen: "I won't even say much – this is the game we're playing. What do you have to counter it? That's why The Economist made that statement about 'democratization of information technology.' But they have no idea what that truly means. As soon as the Chinese government steps in, the entire artificial intelligence landscape in the context of great power strategic competition will undergo a disruptive transformation.

"Moreover, this will set an example – an example for what? That all the brilliant minds in the world, particularly those from developing countries, should learn from China's approach: elevate the intelligence and wisdom of their own people, use open-source models, optimize algorithms and LLMs, and build your own AI in a way that isn't solely dependent on piling up computing power and energy consumption. Even without the Chinese government stepping in, just the spread of this idea within specific global circles already has revolutionary and landmark significance."