It's been an… interesting day for ASX shares and the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) this Tuesday, to say the least. After a dramatic plunge soon after market open this morning, the ASX 200 has stabilised a little at the time of writing, and is currently enjoying a 0.01% lift. But we can't say the same for ASX uranium shares today.

ASX uranium shares are, on the whole, having a truly terrible Tuesday.

Take leading uranium stock Boss Energy Ltd (ASX: BOE). Boss shares are presently nursing a horrid 11.51% loss and are down to $2.805 each. That's after this company closed at $3.17 a share last week.

Deep Yellow Ltd (ASX: DYL) is doing even worse. This uranium stock has lost a whopping 17.53% today thus far, and is currently being priced at $1.20 a share. That's far below the $1.46 it closed at on Friday.

Paladin Energy Ltd (ASX: PDN) hasn't been quite so punished. Even so, Paladin stock has retreated by a still-nasty 10.94% so far today, and is now going for $8.015 a share. That's after shutting up shop at a flat $9 last week.

Even the BetaShares Global Uranium ETF (ASX: URNM) is having a shocker. URNM units have shed a chunky 11.1% down to $7.93 each.

So not a good day to own ASX uranium shares, one might conclude. But what's causing these steep drops?

What on earth is going on with ASX uranium shares?

With no major developments out of any of these ASX uranium shares this week thus far, it looks as though today's dramatic falls are the result of the DeepSeek waves that are currently crashing over the ASX. The American markets were rocked by a new report out of the Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) sector this morning.

This report revealed that Chinese AI company DeepSeek has developed an AI model that is allegedly comparable to the best models currently out from American providers.

Crucially, this DeepSeek model was reportedly developed with far less capital than expected. This implies it was done with relatively small levels of computing power and energy.

As our Fool colleagues in the US reported today, most investors have been assuming the explosive growth in AI technology would result in increasing demand for uranium. Uranium can be used to generate emissions-free electricity.

Indeed, last year, AI giant Microsoft made news when it made a major deal to secure a supply of nuclear power for future data centre use.

However, the massive falls in the prices of ASX uranium shares today arguably indicate that investors are quickly reevaluating these assumptions. If the entire AI industry does indeed require far fewer resources to develop future AI products and services, that strong demand for uranium that investors had pencilled might never materialise. Or at least could be far lower than previously assumed.

Of course, we'll only find out for sure down the road. But investors certainly seem to be in a panic today over this mere possibility. Let's see how the rest of the week treats these ASX uranium shares.