US President Joe Biden’s outgoing administration is proposing a new framework for the export of advanced computer chips used to develop artificial intelligence, in an attempt to balance national security concerns about the technology with the economic interests of producers and other countries.
But the framework proposed Monday also raised concerns among chip industry executives, who said the rules would limit access to existing chips used for video games and restrict chips used for data centers and artificial intelligence products in 120 countries. . Mexico, Portugal, Israel and Switzerland are among the nations that could have limited access.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said in a call with reporters previewing the framework that it is “critical” to preserve U.S. leadership in AI and the development of AI-related computer chips. Rapidly evolving artificial intelligence technology enables computers to produce novels, advance scientific research, automate driving, and foster a variety of other transformations that could reshape economies and wars.
“As AI becomes more powerful, the risks to our national security become even more intense,” Raimondo said. The framework “is designed to safeguard the most advanced artificial intelligence technology and ensure it remains out of the reach of our foreign adversaries, but also allows for broad dissemination and sharing of benefits with partner countries.”
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan highlighted that the framework would ensure that the most advanced aspects of AI are developed within the US and with its closest allies, rather than possibly being offshored, as is the case with the battery and renewable energy sectors.
A tech industry group, the Information Technology Industry Council, warned Raimondo in a letter last week that a new rule hastily implemented by the Democratic administration could fragment global supply chains and put U.S. companies at a disadvantage. Another group, the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), said on Monday it was disappointed that the policy was “hastily implemented” before a presidential transition. President-elect Donald Trump will take office on January 20.
“The new rule risks causing unintended and lasting harm to the U.S. economy and global competitiveness in semiconductors and artificial intelligence by ceding strategic markets to our competitors,” said SIA President and CEO John Neuffer. .
An industry executive who is familiar with the framework and insisted on anonymity to discuss it said the proposed restrictions would limit access to chips already used for video games despite government claims to the contrary. The executive said it would also limit which companies could build data centers abroad.
‘Control technology around the world’
Because the framework includes a 120-day comment period, the incoming Republican Trump administration could ultimately determine the rules for foreign sales of advanced computer chips. This sets up a scenario in which Trump will have to balance American economic interests with the need to keep the country and its allies safe.
Administration officials said they felt the need to act quickly in hopes of preserving what is perceived as a six- to 18-month U.S. lead in AI over rivals like China, an advantage that could easily be eroded if competitors are able of accumulating artificial intelligence. chips and get more profits.
Ned Finkle, vice president of external affairs at chipmaker Nvidia, said in a statement that the previous Trump administration had helped lay the groundwork for AI development and that the proposed framework would harm innovation without achieving national security goals. declared.
“Although disguised as an ‘anti-China’ measure, these rules would do nothing to improve US security,” he said. “The new rules would control technology around the world, including technology that is already widely available in major gaming PCs and consumer hardware.”
Under the framework, about 20 key allies and partners would face no restrictions on accessing chips, but other countries would face limits on the chips they could import, according to a fact sheet provided by the White House.
Unrestricted allies include Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan and the United Kingdom.
Users outside of these close allies could purchase up to 50,000 graphics processing units per country. There would also be agreements between governments that could increase the limit to 100,000 if their renewable energy and technological security goals are aligned with those of the United States.
Institutions in certain countries could also apply for legal status that would allow them to purchase up to 320,000 advanced graphics processing units over two years. Still, there would be limits to how much AI computing capacity companies and other institutions could place abroad.
Additionally, orders for computer chips equivalent to 1,700 advanced graphics processing units would not require a license to import nor would they count against the national chip limit. The exception for 1,700 graphics processing units would likely help meet orders from universities and medical institutions rather than data centers.
The new rules are not expected to hinder the AI-powered data center expansion plans of major cloud computing providers such as Amazon, Google and Microsoft due to exemptions for trusted companies seeking large chip pools. of advanced AI.
China’s Ministry of Commerce said in response to the proposed rules that China will take necessary measures to safeguard its “legitimate rights and interests.”
