The arctic vault that hopes to preserve our data

Summary

Marketplace Morning Report: The Arctic Vault That Hopes to Preserve Our Data
Hosted by Marketplace, Released on February 17, 2025

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1. South Korea Halts Downloads of China's Deepseek AI Chatbot
Reported by Nick Qureshi and Jean MacKenzie

South Korea has taken decisive action against China's artificial intelligence chatbot, Deepseek, by banning its new downloads due to concerns over data management and user privacy. Initially an instant success, Deepseek surged to over a million weekly users shortly after its release, challenging established AI platforms like ChatGPT with its cost-effective performance.

Jean MacKenzie reports that the South Korean government swiftly responded by prohibiting government employees from using Deepseek on official devices, leading to a complete suspension of downloads. Despite the ban, existing users retain access to the web service, allowing continued use of the app among the general populace. The South Korean acting president labeled Deepseek as a "shock that could impact the country's industries beyond AI," highlighting the broader implications amidst the intense technological rivalry between Seoul and Beijing, especially in pivotal sectors like semiconductors and electric vehicle batteries.

Notable Quote:
Jean MacKenzie (01:36): “The government has accused the company of not adhering to some of its rules on protecting personal information.”

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2. Prospects of a Russia-Ukraine Peace Deal Influence Global Oil Prices
Reported by Nick Qureshi and Katie Silver

Amid ongoing peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in Saudi Arabia, there has been a noticeable impact on global oil markets. Katie Silver explains that oil prices have experienced a downward trend, decreasing by approximately 3% over four consecutive days as optimism about a potential peace deal grows. The anticipation is that a resolution could lead to the lifting or easing of sanctions on Russian oil, thereby increasing supply and exerting downward pressure on prices.

However, Silver also cautions that geopolitical factors, including potential reciprocal tariffs enacted by the U.S., could influence global demand for oil and potentially cap prices from falling further. The market remains vigilant, balancing hopes for stabilized relations with the uncertainties of international trade policies.

Notable Quote:
Katie Silver (02:30): “The market has continued to keep an eye on the progress of these peace talks, hopes that basically it could lead to a slowing or an ending of sanctions on Russian oil, which would increase supply and therefore sending price downwards.”

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3. Market Movements: Oil, Gold, and Global Stocks
Analysis by Nick Qureshi

In the latest market updates, oil prices have shown volatility influenced by geopolitical developments. Gold has rebounded, currently trading around $2,900 an ounce, driven by concerns over global trade stability. European aerospace and defense stocks have seen a rally as regional political leaders convene for an emergency summit addressing the Ukraine conflict, coinciding with increased U.S. calls for augmented military spending.

Additionally, Japan's Nikkei index has edged higher following reports of surprisingly robust economic growth, with an annualized rate of 2.8% in the fourth quarter. This growth underscores Japan's resilient economic strategies amidst global uncertainties.

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4. China's Strategic Push for Technological Advancement
Reported by Nick Qureshi and Laura Bick

In Beijing, President Xi Jinping convened a high-profile symposium with leading business figures, including Jack Ma of Alibaba Group, representatives from BYD, and Huawei Technologies. This meeting signals a potential shift in the Communist Party's stance towards greater support for private entrepreneurs, especially in the rapidly evolving sectors of artificial intelligence and advanced manufacturing.

Laura Bick highlights that President Xi is advocating for the development of new productive forces to sustain China's economic growth as traditional manufacturing sectors face a slowdown. The collaboration aims to foster breakthroughs in AI and other cutting-edge technologies, positioning China to compete more effectively against U.S. tech firms.

Notable Quote:
Laura Bick (04:40): “President Xi is pushing for new productive forces, including breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, to help drive growth in China as traditional manufacturing slows.”

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5. Arctic World Archive: Safeguarding Humanity's Digital Legacy
Reported by Nick Qureshi and Adrienne Murray

In an innovative effort to preserve digital data for future generations, the Arctic World Archive has been established in Svalbard, a remote archipelago above the Arctic Circle. Adrienne Murray takes listeners inside this state-of-the-art vault, which resides in a repurposed coal mine, providing a secure and isolated environment free from geopolitical tensions and natural disasters.

Rune Bjergstrand, founder of the Arctic World Archive, emphasizes the strategic advantages of the location: “It's a remote destination, far away from wars, crises, terrorism, disasters. And it's regulated by an international treaty. It's a demilitarized zone. So what could be safer?” (06:02)

Inside the vault, data is meticulously stored on silver packets containing reels of film, ensuring long-term preservation. The project hosts over 100 deposits from more than 30 countries, encompassing a vast array of cultural, historical, literary, artistic, and musical works. A significant inclusion is the world's open-source code repository, curated by GitHub’s Chief Operating Officer, Kyle Deigel, underscoring the critical importance of safeguarding software integrity.

Alexey Mantsev, Senior Product Developer at Picor, the company managing the archive, details the preservation process: “We convert the sequence of the bits which come from our clients data into images. We are sending those raw images onto film. After that we develop the film, we can scan it back and we can decode the data just the same way as reading data from a hard drive.” (07:31)

While the long-term durability of the archive remains to be seen, the initiative represents a proactive approach to ensuring that humanity’s digital footprint endures despite an unpredictable future.

Notable Quote:
Rune Bjergstrand (06:02): “It's a remote destination, far away from wars, crises, terrorism, disasters. And it's regulated by an international treaty. It's a demilitarized zone. So what could be safer?”

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Conclusion

The February 17, 2025 episode of Marketplace Morning Report delves into critical global developments, from South Korea's cybersecurity measures against Chinese AI innovations and the potential stabilization of oil markets through peace negotiations, to China's strategic push in technology sectors. The highlight, however, is the pioneering Arctic World Archive project aimed at preserving humanity’s digital legacy in the heart of the Arctic. This comprehensive report offers listeners a nuanced understanding of the intricate interplay between technology, geopolitics, and economic trends shaping our world today.

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For more insights and updates, tune into the next episode of Marketplace Morning Report or visit Marketplace.org.

Transcript

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[Nick Qureshi]

Seoul bans downloads of China's Deep Seek AI live from the UK this is the Marketplace Morning report from the BBC World Service. I'm Nick Qureshi standing in for Liana Byrne. Morning to you. South Korea has blocked new downloads of China's artificial intelligence chatbot Deep Sea over concerns about how it manages users data. Deepseek upended the tech world last month and impacted financial markets after the company said it could match the performance of ChatGPT for a fraction of the cost. The BBC's Jean MacKenzie has more from Seoul.

[Jean MacKenzie]

Deepseek was an instant hit in South Korea. In the week after it made headlines, it leapt to the top of app stores here with over a million weekly users. Government ministries quickly banned employees from using the service on work devices. Now all downloads have been suspended. The government has accused the company of not adhering to some of its rules on protecting personal information. But people can still access the web service and those who already have the app can keep using it. South Korea's acting president has described Deepseek as a shock that could impact the country's industries beyond AI. Seoul and Beijing are competing to develop advanced technologies such as semiconductors and batteries for electric vehicles.

[Nick Qureshi]

Jean Mackenzie there the prospects of a Russia Ukraine peace deal at talks in Saudi Arabia this week has been affecting global oil prices. Here's the BBC's Katie Silver.

[Katie Silver]

Since there's been talk of positive developments or potentially a peace deal, we have seen four days in a row oil prices lowering, down now about 3% in those four days. Currently they're more or less flat. Flat. But the market has continued to keep an eye on the progress of these peace talks, hopes that basically it could lead to a slowing or an ending of sanctions on Russian oil, which would increase supply and therefore sending price downwards. But of course, the other impact as well is what Trump's doing when it comes to reciprocal tariffs, the impact that may have on demand for oil globally. And if that does come into a force, it's likely to cap oil prices as well.

[Nick Qureshi]

Katie Silver. Right, let's do the numbers. Oil prices may be fluctuating, but gold is up again, trading at around $2900 an ounce on worries for global trade. Europe's aerospace and defence stocks have rallied as the region's political leaders called for an emergency summit on the Ukraine war amid growing US calls to boost military spending. And Tokyo's Nikkei ticked marginally higher after Japan reported surprisingly strong economic growth of an annualised 2.8% for the fourth quarter.

[Kai Rysdal]

Hi, I'm Kai Rysdal, the host of How We Survive. This season is all about the institution that shaped me, the US military and how it could shape the future of climate tech. You've probably heard that 2024 was the hottest year on record, that wildfires devastated Los Angeles and that the US withdrew from the Paris agreement again. And while all that might feel pretty terrible, the climate crisis is not an inevitable reality. From simulated climate emergencies to microgrids and sustainable aviation fuel, we look at how the military is investing part of its $850 billion budget in a greener, more resilient future. Listen to How We Survive wherever you get your podcasts.

[Nick Qureshi]

Now. The Chinese president Xi Jinping has held a rare high profile meeting with business leaders in Beijing as competition between Chinese and US tech firms intensifies. Reporting from Beijing, the BBC's Laura Bick.

[Laura Bick]

President Xi hosted a symposium with private entrepreneurs, including Jack Ma, the founder of one of the world's largest tech giants, the Alibaba Group. Mr. Ma fell out of favor with the Communist Party, but today's meeting could signify that it's now adopting a more supportive stance. The chairman and CEO of China's electric carmaker BYD and the founder of Huawei Technologies also attended the meeting. President Xi is pushing for new productive forces, including breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, to help drive growth in China as traditional manufacturing slows.

[Nick Qureshi]

Nora Bicker in Beijing Every day our digital footprint is growing, and over time, some of that data will be lost. To safeguard it for future generations, some are storing precious digital artifacts inside the Arctic World Archive. BBC's Adrienne Murray travelled To the Arctic Circle to find out more.

[Adrienne Murray]

Svalbard is an archipelago high above the Arctic Circle. Isolated and far away, it's home to a vault that aims to be the ultimate backup for our data. We're about to head inside a former coal mine and now it's home to the Arctic World Archive. Rune Bjergstrand is its founder.

[Rune Bjergstrand]

It's a remote destination, far away from wars, crises, terrorism, disasters. And it's regulated by an international treaty. It's a demilitarized zone. So what could be safer?

[Adrienne Murray]

By the light of our head torches, we descend the dark passageway. And behind heavy doors is the vault. Inside are stacks of silver packets containing reels of film.

[Rune Bjergstrand]

Now we have more than 100 deposits from 30 plus countries across the world. So it's a wide selection of cultural heritage, history, literature, art, music, you name it. This is a very special container.

[Adrienne Murray]

In another large box is a copy of the world's open source code, the building blocks of most of the software and websites that we use. Kyle Deigel is the chief operating officer of GitHub, which is behind this code vault. It's incredibly important for humanity to secure the future of software. It's become so critical to our day to day lives. We're essentially building another wonder of the world every day by working together to write software. The archive is a commercial operation run by data preservation company Picor. And back at its Norwegian offices in Dramen, an hour from Oslo, all those files are printed onto film. Alexey Mantsev is a senior product developer at Pico.

[Rune Bjergstrand]

We convert the sequence of the bits which come from our clients data into images. We are sending those raw images onto film. After that we develop the film, we can scan it back and we can decode the data just the same way a user could see of reading data from a hard drive.

[Adrienne Murray]

No one knows how long this archive will last, but plans are being made to preserve the digital memories we have today, no matter how uncertain the Future. I'm the BBC's Adrienne Murray for Marketplace.

[Nick Qureshi]

And in the UK. Hi, I'm Nick Qureshi with the Marketplace morning report from the BBC World Service. Thanks for listening. Let's do it all again this time tomorrow.

[Kai Rysdal]

This economy can be complicated. That's why the Marketplace newsletter makes understanding it all simple. Get smart takes on the week's biggest stories delivered to your inbox every Friday. No jargon, no hype, just economics you can use. Sign up [e-mail] subscribe.