Today, the Biden-Harris Administration angered U.S. tech companies by releasing an “Interim Final Rule on Artificial Intelligence Diffusion,” which imposes new restrictions on U.S-developed chips for AI systems.
According to today’s Whitehouse statement, “To enhance U.S. national security and economic strength, it is essential that we do not offshore this critical technology and that the world’s AI runs on American rails. It is important to work with AI companies and foreign governments to put in place critical security and trust standards as they build out their AI ecosystems.”
The Whitehouse said the six key elements of the new rule are:
· No restrictions apply to chip sales to 18 key allies and partners.
· Chip orders with collective computation power up to roughly 1,700 advanced GPUs do not require a license and do not count against national chip caps.
· Entities that meet high security and trust standards and are headquartered in close allies and partners can obtain highly trusted “Universal Verified End User” (UVEU) status.
· Entities that meet the same security requirements and are headquartered in any destination that is not a country of concern can apply for “National Verified End User” status, enabling them to purchase computational power equivalent to up to 320,000 advanced GPUs over the next two years.
· Non-VEU entities located outside of close allies can still purchase large amounts of computational power,
· Government-to-government arrangements cultivate an international ecosystem of shared values regarding the development, deployment, and use of AI.
The new restrictions are believed to prevent countries like China from accessing US-developed advanced technology, fueling further tensions between Washington and Beijing before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
Gina Raimondo, US Secretary of Commerce, said the law 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.”
By CEO NA Editorial Staff
