OpenAI Launches New AI Tool to Facilitate Research Tasks 

The OpenAI logo, a keyboard, and robot hands are seen in this illustration taken January 27, 2025. (Reuters)
The OpenAI logo, a keyboard, and robot hands are seen in this illustration taken January 27, 2025. (Reuters)
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OpenAI Launches New AI Tool to Facilitate Research Tasks 

The OpenAI logo, a keyboard, and robot hands are seen in this illustration taken January 27, 2025. (Reuters)
The OpenAI logo, a keyboard, and robot hands are seen in this illustration taken January 27, 2025. (Reuters)

Generative artificial intelligence heavyweight OpenAI launched a new AI tool on Sunday called "deep research", which it said conducts multi-step research on the internet for complex tasks.

Deep research is powered by a version of the upcoming OpenAI o3 model optimized for web browsing and data analysis. Users have to give a prompt and OpenAI's chatbot ChatGPT will find, analyze, and synthesize several online sources such as text, images, and PDFs to create a comprehensive report at the level of a research analyst, OpenAI said.

"It accomplishes in tens of minutes what would take a human many hours," OpenAI said.

OpenAI added that deep research is still in its early stages and has limitations. "It may struggle with distinguishing authoritative information from rumors, and currently shows weakness in confidence calibration, often failing to convey uncertainty accurately," it said.

Deep research is available from Sunday on the web version of ChatGPT, and will be rolled out to mobile and desktop apps within February, OpenAI said.

Deep research is the second AI agent launched by OpenAI this year after it previewed a tool in January called Operator, which can perform a variety of tasks such as creating to-do lists or assisting with vacation planning.



Downloads of DeepSeek's AI Apps Paused in South Korea Over Privacy Concerns 

People watch a TV reporting DeepSeek, a Chinese artificial intelligence startup, during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. (AP)
People watch a TV reporting DeepSeek, a Chinese artificial intelligence startup, during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. (AP)
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Downloads of DeepSeek's AI Apps Paused in South Korea Over Privacy Concerns 

People watch a TV reporting DeepSeek, a Chinese artificial intelligence startup, during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. (AP)
People watch a TV reporting DeepSeek, a Chinese artificial intelligence startup, during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. (AP)

DeepSeek, a Chinese artificial intelligence startup, has temporarily paused downloads of its chatbot apps in South Korea while it works with local authorities to address privacy concerns, South Korean officials said Monday.

South Korea’s Personal Information Protection Commission said DeepSeek’s apps were removed from the local versions of Apple’s App Store and Google Play on Saturday evening and that the company agreed to work with the agency to strengthen privacy protections before relaunching the apps.

The action does not affect users who have already downloaded DeepSeek on their phones or use it on personal computers. Nam Seok, director of the South Korean commission’s investigation division, advised South Korean users of DeepSeek to delete the app from their devices or avoid entering personal information into the tool until the issues are resolved.

DeepSeek got worldwide attention last month when it claimed it built its popular chatbot at a fraction of the cost of those made by US companies. The resulting frenzy upended markets and fueled debates over competition between the US and China in developing AI technology.

Many South Korean government agencies and companies have either blocked DeepSeek from their networks or prohibited employees from using the app for work, amid worries that the AI model was gathering too much sensitive information.

The South Korean privacy commission, which began reviewing DeepSeek’s services last month, found that the company lacked transparency about third-party data transfers and potentially collected excessive personal information, Nam said.

Nam said the commission did not have an estimate on the number of DeepSeek users in South Korea. A recent analysis by Wiseapp Retail found that DeepSeek was used by about 1.2 million smartphone users in South Korea during the fourth week of January, emerging as the second-most-popular AI model behind ChatGPT.