| Good afternoon, Vodafone owner TPG Telecom has become the first Australian company to announce it has banned employees using China’s low-cost artificial intelligence model DeepSeek. The ban follows that of the Australian government which late last night announced it no longer approved its use on government systems and devices after federal intelligence agencies deemed the Chinese AI company posed an “unacceptable risk” to national security. The launch of DeepSeek – a model which reportedly cost $US5.6m to train compared with the billions Silicon Valley has invested in America’s best, including ChatGPT – has ignited serious debate about future demand for data centres. But Blackstone says its multibillion-dollar bet on data centres – including its $24bn investment in Australian operator AirTrunk – still stacks up despite China’s low-cost model DeepSeek rattling global markets. Let me know what you think — lynchj@theaustralian.com.au | 
