The Biden administration on Monday issued sweeping rules on how AI chips and models can be shared with foreign countries, in an effort to establish a global framework that will guide how artificial intelligence spreads around the world in the years to come. .
With the power of AI growing rapidly, the Biden administration said regulations were necessary to keep the transformative technology under the control of the United States and its allies and out of the hands of adversaries who could use it to enhance their own forces. Could. Cyber attacks and otherwise threats to the United States.
The rules impose various limits on the number of AI chips that companies can ship to different countries, essentially dividing the world into three categories. The United States and 18 of its closest partners – including Britain, Canada, Germany, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan – are exempted from any restrictions and can freely purchase AI chips.
Countries like China and Russia that are already subject to US arms sanctions will continue to face pre-existing restrictions on AI chip purchases.
All other nations – most of the world – will be subject to caps limiting the number of AI chips that can be imported, although countries and companies are able to increase that number by making special agreements with the US government.
These rules are intended to prevent China from obtaining the technology needed to produce artificial intelligence from other countries, as the United States has banned such sales to China in recent years.
But the rules also have broader goals: making allied countries the location of choice for companies to build the world’s largest data centers, in an effort to keep the most advanced AI models within the borders of the United States and its partners.
Governments around the world, especially in the Middle East, are investing money in attracting and building huge new data centers, set to become the next hub of AI development.
Jake Sullivan, President Biden’s national security adviser, told reporters Sunday that the rule would ensure that the infrastructure for training the most advanced artificial intelligence will be in the United States or under the jurisdiction of close allies, and “that capability will not be available abroad.” Will go.” Like chips and batteries and other industries that we’ve had to invest hundreds of billions of dollars to bring back to shore.”
Mr. Sullivan said, “This rule provides greater clarity to our international partners and industry, and counters the serious fraud and related national security risks posed by countries of concern and malicious actors who seek to use advanced U.S. technologies against us.” Can want.” ,
It will be up to the Trump administration whether to maintain or enforce the new rules. Speaking with reporters on Sunday, Biden administration officials said they were consulting with the incoming administration about the rules.
Although companies in China have begun to develop their own AI chips, the global market for such semiconductors is dominated by American companies, especially Nvidia. That dominance has given the US government the ability to regulate the flow of AI technology around the world by restricting US company exports.
Companies oppose those limits, saying the restrictions could hinder harmless or beneficial types of computing, anger U.S. allies and ultimately lead global buyers to buy non-U.S. products made by China. Can.
In a statement, Ned Finkel, Nvidia’s vice president of government affairs, called the rule “unprecedented and misguided” and said it “threatens to derail innovation and economic growth around the world.”
“Instead of mitigating any threats, the new Biden rules will only weaken America’s global competitiveness, undermining the innovation that has kept America ahead,” he said.
Microsoft President Brad Smith said in a statement that the company is confident it can “fully comply with the high security standards of this rule and meet the technology needs of the countries and customers we serve around the world.” But trust.”
The rules, which run to more than 200 pages, also establish a system in which companies that operate data centers like Microsoft and Google can apply for special government recognition.
In exchange for adhering to certain security standards, these companies can trade AI chips more freely around the world. Companies will still have to agree to keep 75 percent of their total AI computing power within the United States or affiliated countries, and no more than 7 percent of their computing power in any other country.
The rules also establish the first controls on weights for AI models, parameters unique to each model that determine how artificial intelligence makes its predictions. Companies setting up data centers overseas will need to adopt security standards to protect this intellectual property and prevent adversaries from gaining access to them.
Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing how scientists conduct research, how companies allocate tasks among their employees and how armies operate. While AI has many beneficial uses, US officials have become more concerned that it could enable the development of new weapons, help countries monitor dissidents and otherwise upset the global balance of power.
Jimmy Goodrich, a senior adviser for technology analysis at the RAND Corporation, said the rules would create a framework to protect U.S. security interests while also allowing companies to compete abroad. “They are also visionary, trying to preserve US and allied-led supply chains before they are offshored to the highest subsidy bidder,” he said.