AI Development in Focus: DeepSeek’s Influence with Resaro, Magellan Law & AI Singapore

On 14 March, we hosted the AI Development in Focus: DeepSeek’s Influence event in partnership with Resaro, Magellan Law, and AI Singapore at the SMU Yong Pung How School of Law.

This engaging panel discussion featured esteemed speakers Laurence Liew (Director, AI Innovation, AI Singapore), Alex Toh (Partner, Magellan Law), and Miguel Fernandes (Technical Partner, Resaro), moderated by Assoc Prof Jason Grant Allen (Director, Centre for Digital Law). Together, they discussed the growing conversation around the evolving landscape of AI models, unpacking both the capabilities and risks of emerging technologies such as DeepSeek, a China-backed AI model that is sparking both innovation and controversy.

With its impressive features and the debates it has ignited, DeepSeek is only one part of the broader conversation about the future of AI. What does this mean for AI’s trajectory, and how should governments, businesses, and individuals approach these emerging technologies?

As different stakeholders champion their own AI models, familiar tensions resurface: open weights vs. closed weights, safety vs. efficiency, disruption vs. creation, and digital authoritarianism vs. human autonomy. These ongoing debates continue to shape the future of AI in profound ways.

We thank our speakers and attendees for their valuable insights and thoughtful discussions. We look forward to continuing this critical conversation as AI development progresses.