The Biden administration on Monday will define how AI chips and models can be shared with foreign countries, aiming to establish a global framework that will guide how artificial intelligence will spread around the world in the coming years. announced comprehensive regulations.
As the power of AI rapidly increases, the Biden administration says rules are needed to keep the transformative technology under the control of the U.S. and its allies and keep it out of the hands of adversaries who can use it to augment their own militaries. . Threatening the United States, including cyberattacks.
The rules set various limits on the number of AI chips that companies can send to each country, effectively dividing the world into three categories: The United States and 18 of its closest partners (including the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan) are exempt from any restrictions and can freely purchase AI chips.
Countries already subject to U.S. arms embargoes, such as China and Russia, will continue to face existing bans on AI chip purchases.
All other countries, most of the world, will have limits on the number of AI chips they can import, but countries and companies can increase that number by striking special agreements with the U.S. government. .
The rule is aimed at preventing China from acquiring the technology needed to manufacture artificial intelligence from other countries, after the United States recently banned the sale of artificial intelligence to China.
But the regulation also includes broader goals. That means companies choosing allies to build the world's largest data centers and keeping cutting-edge AI models within the borders of the United States and its partners.
Governments around the world, especially in the Middle East, are pouring money into attracting and building huge new data centers with the aim of becoming the next AI development centers.
President Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, told reporters on Sunday that the rule would place infrastructure for training cutting-edge artificial intelligence within the United States or under the jurisdiction of close allies. “That ability will not be leaked overseas,'' he said. We had to invest hundreds of billions of dollars to bring chip, battery, and other industries back on land. ”
“This rule provides greater clarity for our international partners and industry to protect against concerns brought by malicious parties seeking to use advanced American technology against us and other countries. Sullivan said: .
It will be up to the Trump administration to decide whether and how to enforce the new rules. Biden administration officials said on a call with reporters Sunday that they are discussing the rules with the incoming administration.
Chinese companies have begun developing their own AI chips, but the global market for these chips is dominated by American companies, particularly Nvidia. This advantage has allowed the U.S. government to regulate the flow of AI technology around the world by restricting the exports of U.S. companies.
Companies have protested these restrictions, saying they prevent harmless or even useful types of computing, anger U.S. allies, and ultimately discourage global buyers from purchasing non-U.S. products, including those made in China. It is argued that there is a possibility that it could be pursued.
Ned Finkle, Nvidia's vice president of government affairs, said in a statement that the rule is “unprecedented and misguided” and “could stifle innovation and economic growth around the world.”
“Far from reducing the threat, Biden's new rules will only weaken America's global competitiveness and undermine the innovation that has kept America ahead,” he said.
Microsoft President Brad Smith said in a statement that he is confident the company can “fully comply with the rule's high security standards and meet the technology needs of the countries and customers around the world who trust us.” said.
The more than 200-page rule also creates a system for companies that operate data centers, such as Microsoft and Google, to apply for special government certification.
These companies will be able to trade their AI chips more freely around the world in exchange for following certain security standards. Both companies would have to agree to keep 75 percent of their total AI computing power in the United States or allied countries, and no more than 7 percent of their computing power in one other country.
This rule also sets initial controls on the AI model's weights. This is a parameter specific to each model that determines how artificial intelligence makes predictions. Companies that locate data centers overseas are required to adopt security standards to protect this intellectual property and prevent adversaries from accessing it.
Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing the way scientists conduct research, the way companies assign tasks to employees, and the way militaries operate. AI has many useful uses, but U.S. officials say it could upend the global balance of power by enabling the development of new weapons and helping countries monitor dissidents. There are growing concerns about this.
Jimmy Goodrich, senior adviser for technology analysis at the RAND Corporation, said the rule creates a framework that protects U.S. national security interests while allowing companies to compete overseas. “They are also proactive and trying to maintain U.S. and allied-led supply chains before they are offshored to the highest subsidy bidder,” he said.
