With just a week left in his presidency, President Joe Biden has announced new rules regarding the export of artificial intelligence (AI) chips made in the United States.
On Monday, the administration released what they call an “Interim Final Rule” on the distribution of AI technology. The goal of this new ruling is to make it clearer for friendly nations how they can use and benefit from AI while also simplifying the process for these countries to obtain licenses to buy chips. However, these new rules also impose restrictions on selling chips to many countries around the world.
According to reports from CNN, the new guidelines categorize countries into three different groups:
- The First Group: This group includes the U.S.’s closest allies, such as Japan and South Korea. These countries will not face any new restrictions and can continue to purchase AI chips without additional hurdles.
- The Second Group: This group consists of countries like China and Russia, which already faced bans on buying advanced AI chips. The new rules will further limit their access, especially regarding certain types of AI technology that are considered “closed” or restricted.
- The Third Group: This group includes a wide range of countries, such as Mexico, Portugal, and Israel, which are neither strong allies nor outright adversaries of the U.S. These countries will now have limits on how many AI chips they can purchase, specifically capped at 50,000 graphics processing units (GPUs) per country. However, there are ways for these countries to request a higher limit.
Read Also: Apple Joins Group To Develop Next-Gen AI Data Center Tech
The changes will significantly impact the third group of countries. While the restrictions aim to prevent adversaries like China and Russia from acquiring chips through these nations, they may also hinder the development and use of AI technologies in those countries.
In response to these proposed rules, Nvidia, a major chip manufacturer, issued a statement saying that the new guidelines are “unprecedented and misguided.” They expressed concern that these restrictions could hinder innovation and economic growth on a global scale.
These new proposals build on earlier guidance from the Biden administration issued in October 2022 and October 2023. Although there will be a 120-day period for public comments on these rules, they are set to take effect before that period concludes.
As this situation continues to evolve, it’s important to note that with a new administration taking over next week, the discussion around these chip export restrictions could change significantly by the end of the month.
