The Biden administration today announced a bold and controversial modern export control program aimed at preventing the very advanced chips and artificial intelligence models from falling into the hands of adversaries like China.
The administration’s modern “Artificial Intelligence Spread Rule” divides the world into nations that will have relatively unrestricted access to America’s most advanced artificial intelligence chips and algorithms, and those that will require special licenses to access the technology. The rule, which will be enforced by the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security, also aims for the first time to restrict the flow of the most powerful artificial intelligence models.
“The United States is currently leading the world in artificial intelligence, both in AI development and AI chip design, and it is critical that it remains that way,” U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said ahead of today’s announcement.
The list of trusted countries includes the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Japan, France, Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Recent Zealand, Norway, the Republic of Korea, Spain, Sweden and Taiwan.
Under the rules, 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 a special license to buy more chips, build very huge data centers using American technology or gain access to the most powerful “scales” of closed models produced by American companies. To obtain a license, companies will need to have appropriate physical and cyber security measures in place.
Supply chain activities, including chip design, manufacturing and storage, will be exempt from this rule. The administration says the rule also won’t restrict open-source artificial intelligence models like Meta Lama.
Countries under arms embargoes such as China, Iran and North Korea are already banned from acquiring advanced chips. The modern rule will limit their access to advanced models for the first time.
“Semiconductors that power [AI] and masses of models are, as we all know, dual-use technology,” Raimondo added before the announcement. “They are used in many commercial applications, but our adversaries can also use them to conduct nuclear simulations, develop biological weapons and expand their militaries.”
However, the rule is sure to be controversial because it could limit international sales of AI at a critical time for the industry. This comes just a week before Trump’s inauguration. The ruling sets a 120-day consultation period, meaning the Trump administration will have to listen to comments, perhaps modify the rule, and then enforce it.
Nvidia, the world’s leading AI chipmaker, called the rule “unprecedented and wrong” blog post. “These rules, disguised as ‘anti-China’ measures, would do nothing to improve US security. Instead of mitigating any threat, Biden’s new rules will only weaken America’s global competitiveness by undermining the innovations that have given the U.S. an edge.”
The United States already limits exports of advanced AI chips to China, a key geopolitical rival, but companies there have managed to build cutting algorithms using computer clusters located in other countries. According to the modern regulations, China will not be able to build the so-called frontier AI models in other countries affected by this regulation.