China’s PLA is using DeepSeek AI for non-combat support. Will actual combat be next?
Adoption of DeepSeek by PLA hospitals, paramilitary and mobilisation units seen to usher in ‘new chapter in military intelligentisation’
Analysts expect the AI models to find imminent application in battlefield intelligence surveillance and decision-making by the Chinese military.
DeepSeek’s open-source large language models (LLMs), which have drawn global attention and praise, are being used in PLA hospitals, People’s Armed Police (PAP), and national defence mobilisation organs, according to publicly available information.
Earlier this month, the general hospital of the PLA’s Central Theatre Command announced it had authorised “embedded deployment” of DeepSeek’s R1-70B LLM, saying it could provide treatment plan suggestions to support doctors.
The hospital also emphasised patient privacy and data security, noting that all data was stored and processed on local servers.
Similar deployments have been seen in other PLA hospitals nationwide, including the elite PLA General Hospital in Beijing, also known as “301 Hospital”, where senior Chinese officials and military officers receive treatment and highly sensitive personal data is believed to be stored.