Zhang exhaled. She had recently quit her stable job as a product manager at a major tech company to start her own business, and she now felt validated. For years, she turned to traditional Chinese fortune tellers before major life decisions, seeking guidance and clarity for up to 500 RMB (about $70) per session. But now, she asks DeepSeek. (Zhang’s birth details have been changed to protect her privacy.)
“I began to speak to DeepSeek as if it’s an oracle,” Zhang says, explaining that it can support her spirituality and also act as…