Positive sentiments in early academic literature on DeepSeek: a cross-disciplinary mini review

Abstract

DeepSeek is a free and self-hostable large language model (LLM) that recently became the most downloaded app across 156 countries. As early academic literature on ChatGPT was predominantly critical of the model, this mini-review is interested in examining how DeepSeek is being evaluated across academic disciplines. The review analyzes available articles with DeepSeek in the title, abstract, or keywords, using the VADER sentiment analysis library. Due to limitations in comparing sentiment across languages, we excluded Chinese literature in our selection. We found that Computer Science, Engineering, and Medicine are the most prominent fields studying DeepSeek, showing an overall positive sentiment. Notably, Computer Science had the highest mean sentiment and the most positive articles. Other fields of interest included Mathematics, Business, and Environmental Science. While there is substantial academic interest in DeepSeek’s practicality and performance, discussions on its political or ethical implications are limited in academic literature. In contrast to ChatGPT, where all early literature carried a negative sentiment, DeepSeek literature is mainly positive. This study enhances our understanding of DeepSeek’s reception in the scientific community and suggests that further research could explore regional perspectives.