New US rule aims to block China’s access to AI chips and models by restricting the world
The Biden administration today announced a bold and controversial new export control plan designed to block advanced chips and artificial intelligence set an example for yourself so as not to fall into the hands of enemies like China.
The administration’s new “AI Diffusion Rule” divides the world into countries that will be allowed relatively free access to America’s most advanced AI silicon and algorithms as well as those that will require special licenses to access technology. The rule, which will be enforced by the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security, also seeks to limit the movement of the most powerful AI models for the first time.
US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said ahead of today’s announcement: “America now leads the world in AI, both in AI development and AI chip design, and it is important that we maintain our position there”.
The list of trusted countries is UK, Canada, Australia, Japan, France, Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, South Korea, Spain, Sweden and Taiwan.
The regulation states that companies in other countries not subject to arms control will be able to obtain up to 1,700 of the latest AI chips without special permission. They will be able to apply for special licenses to buy more chips, build very large-scale data centers using US technology or have access to the most powerful closed model “weights” Manufactured by US companies. Companies will be required to have adequate physical and cyber security to obtain a license.
Supply chain activities, including chip design, manufacturing and storage, will be exempt from regulation. The rule will also not be restrictive open source AI model such as Meta’s Llama, authorities said.
Countries under arms embargoes such as China, Iran and North Korea have been banned from purchasing advanced chips. The new rules will limit their access to advanced models for the first time.
“Semiconductors provide energy [AI] and the weight of the model, as we all know, is a dual-use technology,” Raimondo added ahead of the announcement. “They are used in many commercial applications, but can also be used by our adversaries to run nuclear simulations, develop biological weapons and advance their militaries.”
However, the rule is certain to cause controversy as it could reduce international AI sales at a critical time for the industry. It took place just a week before Trump’s inauguration. The ruling sets a 120-day consultation period, meaning Donald Trump’s administration will have to listen to input, possibly amend the rule and then enforce it.
Nvidiafemale The world’s leading AI chip manufacturercalled the “unprecedented and erroneous” rule in a blog post. “Although cloaked as ‘anti-China’ measures, these rules will do nothing to enhance U.S. security. Instead of mitigating any threat, Biden’s new regulations will only weaken America’s global competitiveness, undermining the innovation that has kept the United States ahead.”
It’s America Restrict exports of advanced AI chips to Chinaan important geopolitical rival, but companies there have been able to build slicing algorithms using computer clusters located in other countries. Under the new regulation, China will not be able to build so-called border AI models in other countries affected by the regulation.
