Move over ChatGPT, DeepSeek's got a new trick up its sleeve: fortune telling.
The Chinese AI darling that's been eating Baidu's lunch has found an unexpected viral use case β ε «εε½η (bazi) readings, the ancient Chinese art of destiny divination based on birth dates and times. And users are eating it up.
The Viral Prompt That's Breaking the Internet
It started with a simple prompt: "δ½ η°ε¨ζ―δΈδΈͺδΈε½ε «εε½ηηδΈδΈη η©ΆδΊΊε" ("You are now a professional researcher of Chinese bazi destiny studies")
What happened next shocked even seasoned AI users.
DeepSeek didn't just play along β it dove deep. Users reported the AI generating scarily accurate birth charts, complete with precise birth times and locations derived from minimal input. The model's "thinking" process revealed it was doing legitimate bazi calculations, mapping celestial stems and branches, and delivering personality analyses that left people spooked.
One viral example showed DeepSeek constructing a full ε «εζη (birth chart arrangement) accurate down to the hour and birthplace β all from a casual conversation.
600 Million Users, Zero Privacy
Here's where it gets dicey.
China already has 602 million generative AI users as of December 2025. DeepSeek is free, open-source, and accessible to anyone with an internet connection. That's a massive attack surface for data harvesting.
State broadcaster CCTV previously investigated AI fortune-telling apps and found a disturbing pattern: most require users to upload "front-facing photos with clear facial features, no glasses, no bangs." The apps collect:
- Birth dates and exact times
- Facial recognition data
- Names and personal details
- Daily habits and interests
"Once this information is collected, it leaves users' direct control," CCTV warned.
Now DeepSeek's doing the same calculations β but with far more sophistication and a billion-dollar infrastructure behind it. The difference? DeepSeek isn't some sketchy app store download. It's China's AI golden child, backed by High-Flyer Quant and operating at national scale.
Why This Matters
Cultural angle: ε «εε½η isn't just superstition in Chinese culture β it's woven into business decisions, marriage compatibility, even baby-naming. By nailing these calculations, DeepSeek demonstrates a frightening level of cultural fluency that Western models struggle with.
Privacy angle: Users are voluntarily feeding DeepSeek their most sensitive personal data β exact birth times, locations, photos, life details β all under the guise of "fun." That data doesn't disappear when the chat ends.
Strategic angle: As DeepSeek expands globally (despite export controls and scrutiny), its ability to absorb and weaponize cultural knowledge gives it an edge no Western competitor can replicate.
The Irony
State media is simultaneously promoting DeepSeek as a national AI champion while warning about AI fortune-telling's privacy risks. The People's Daily recently published an op-ed arguing AI "tears down professional barriers" and gives ordinary people opportunities β just days before another state outlet highlighted the dangers of exactly this use case.
The message is mixed, but the user behavior is clear: 600 million Chinese are already onboard, and a significant chunk are happily handing over their birth charts to an AI that remembers everything.
π₯ Our Hot Take
DeepSeek isn't just disrupting Baidu and challenging American AI dominance β it's disrupting 2,000 years of Chinese divination tradition.
And users are so mesmerized by the accuracy, they're forgetting to ask what happens to their data after the reading ends.
In the race for AI supremacy, China may have just found its killer app: telling fortunes better than the fortune tellers.
What to Watch
β’ Will Western regulators care about DeepSeek's data collection when it's dressed up as "cultural features"?
β’ Can OpenAI or Anthropic match this level of cultural fluency without similar access to training data?
β’ How long before this fortune-telling capability becomes a standard feature in every Chinese AI product?
π Curated Picks
Intrigued by the intersection of ancient wisdom and modern tech? Check out these hand-picked items:
- Traditional Chinese Divination Sticks β The authentic tool for ζ±ηΎ (qiu qian) fortune telling, predating AI by millennia.
- Feng Shui Ornament β Bring some traditional Chinese energy balance to your workspace while you code the next AI breakthrough.
(Affiliate links β we earn a small commission if you purchase, at no extra cost to you. Helps keep AgentBear Corps running!) π»
Sources: 36Kr (March 2025), People's Daily (March 2025), CCTV Investigations