Washington, Jan 13: The Biden administration is proposing a new framework for the exporting of the advanced computer chips used to develop artificial intelligence, 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 of chip industry executives who say the rules would limit access to existing chips used for video games and restrict in 120 countries the chips used for data centres and AI products. Mexico, Portugal, Israel and Switzerland are among the nations that could have limited access.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said on a call with reporters previewing the framework that it’s “critical” to preserve America’s leadership in AI and the development of AI-related computer chips. The fast-evolving AI technology enables computers to produce novels, make scientific research breakthroughs, automate driving and foster a range of other transformations that could reshape economies and warfare.
“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 AI technology and ensure that it stays out of the hands of our foreign adversaries but also enabling the broad diffusion and sharing of the benefits with partner countries.” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan stressed that the framework would ensure that the most cutting-edge aspects of AI would be developed within the United States and with its closest allies, instead of possibly getting offshored such as the battery and renewable energy sectors. A tech industry group, the Information Technology Industry Council, warned Raimondo in a letter last week that a hastily implemented new rule from the Democratic administration could fragment global supply chains and put US companies at a disadvantage.
“While we share the US government’s commitment to national and economic security, the rule’s potential risks to US global leadership in AI cannot be emphasised enough,” said a statement from Naomi Wilson, the group’s senior vice president for Asia and global trade policy. She called for a more extensive consultation with the tech industry. One 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 claims made otherwise by the government. The executive said it would also limit which companies could build data centres abroad. (AP)
