What happens when AI shape the flow of global wealth? The emergence of DeepSeek, a highly advanced AI model from China, marks a pivotal moment in global finance (BBC, 2025). Capable of processing vast amounts of financial data, predicting market trends, and influencing trading decisions, DeepSeek challenges traditional economic structures and reshapes geopolitical dynamics. While AI’s role in finance has long been anticipated, its rapid advancement and far-reaching implications raise urgent questions: Are we transitioning to an AI-dominated financial system faster than expected?
What does this mean for human decision-making, market stability, and global economic power?DeepSeek’s ability to analyse complex financial patterns in real time could enhance market efficiency, optimize trading strategies, and improve risk management. If widely adopted, it may create more stable and predictable financial environments. However, this comes at the cost of diminishing the role of human agency. AI-driven trading and investment models already outperform human analysts (Liu et al., 2024), and DeepSeek’s advancements may further sideline human judgment.
This could lead to a technocratic financial elite- where a few institutions with access to the most powerful AI systems lead market movements. Investors and policymakers may find themselves increasingly reliant on AI-generated insights without fully understanding their underlying logic, concentrating economic and geopolitical power in the hands of those who control AI.Despite its potential benefits, AI-driven financial models like DeepSeek also pose serious risks. Algorithmic trading has previously triggered flash crashes (Borch, 2016), and if DeepSeek’s adoption accelerates without adequate oversight, it could amplify market volatility.
The growing complexity of AI systems means they can make economic decisions that even their creators struggle to interpret, creating unpredictable feedback loops that could lead to financial instability, bubbles, or crashes.Another major concern is AI’s lack of transparency (Hirsch et al., 2017; Walmsley, 2021). Unlike human traders who can adapt strategies based on experience, AI systems operate as “black boxes,” making it difficult to understand the rationale behind their predictions (London, 2019).
If DeepSeek misinterprets market signals or is manipulated, it could trigger widespread financial crises before regulators or investors can react. This opacity makes risk assessment increasingly challenging and could destabilize financial institutions traditionally managed with human oversight and caution.Beyond finance, AI and vast data-driven systems will shape geopolitical power (Ciuriak, 2022), determining which nations dominate global economic and political landscapes.
DeepSeek, a product of China’s AI ecosystem, represents a broader technological race between China and the West. If China’s AI-driven financial models gain widespread adoption, they could shift the balance of economic influence, allowing China to exert greater control over international financial systems.DeepSeek’s rapid expansion raises concerns about the concentration of power. As individuals and institutions rush to integrate AI into financial decision-making, nations that control the most advanced AI models could dictate global economic policies. In response, Western governments may seek to limit reliance on Chinese AI technologies, leading to economic fragmentation and financial protectionism.
This could further complicate international trade, investment strategies, and global financial stability.Without proper oversight, AI risks prioritizing efficiency and short-term profit over human well-being and long-term economic stability. If AI-driven financial models like DeepSeek become deeply embedded in critical economic systems, key questions arise: Who will be accountable when things go wrong? Who controls the technology? How should it be regulated? And most critically, how can humanity retain control over its own economic destiny?If AI-triggered market collapses, unfair economic advantages, or worsening inequality emerge, existing regulatory frameworks may be insufficient. Governments must act now to implement safeguards before AI becomes too deeply integrated to control. The world must strike a balance between AI-driven efficiency and the need for transparency, fairness and long-term stability- before it is too late.
References:
- DeepSeek: What lies under the bonnet of the new AI chatbot?, BBC, 1 Feb 2025, https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20250131-what-does-deepseeks-new-app-mean-for-the-future-of-ai.
- Borch, C. (2016). High-frequency trading, algorithmic finance and the Flash Crash: reflections on eventalization. Economy and Society, 45(3-4), 350-378.Ciuriak, D. (2022). The geopolitics of the data-driven economy. Available at SSRN 3770470.
- Hirsch, T., Merced, K., Narayanan, S., Imel, Z. E., & Atkins, D. C. (2017, June). Designing contestability: Interaction design, machine learning, and mental health. In Proceedings of the 2017 Conference on Designing Interactive Systems (pp. 95-99).
- Liu, L. X., Sun, Z., Xu, K., & Chen, C. (2024). AI-driven financial analysis: Exploring ChatGPT’s capabilities and challenges. International Journal of Financial Studies, 12(3), 60.
- London, A. J. (2019). Artificial intelligence and black‐box medical decisions: accuracy versus explainability. Hastings Center Report, 49(1), 15-21.
- Walmsley, J. (2021). Artificial intelligence and the value of transparency. AI & society, 36(2), 585-595.
The article was originally published on LinkedIn: The Rise of DeepSeek: AI’s Growing Influence in Global Financial Markets | LinkedIn