The United States is considering expanding restrictions on exporting AI chips to China, due to the risk that China will use chips from NVIDIA, AMD, Intel, etc. for weapons and cyber attacks.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the US Department of Commerce plans to halt chip exports to China by semiconductor manufacturers including NVIDIA as early as July 2023.
US Considers New Curbs on AI Chip Exports to China - WSJ
The export controls will be part of a final rule announced in October 2022 that codifies and expands
In response to the previously announced export ban on high-performance chips, NVIDIA produced and provided the A800 to China, which can circumvent the regulations. However, according to new regulations being considered by the Department of Commerce, even the A800 will not be able to be sold without approval, officials said.
It is revealed that NVIDIA is producing a new chip ``A800'' in China that can avoid export restrictions - GIGAZINE
by htomari
Without physical access to high-performance chips, Chinese AI companies have sought to circumvent export bans by using cloud services to access computing power. According to some people involved, the use of cloud services is expected to be restricted as such workarounds will also be prohibited.
The timing of the introduction of new regulations is unclear, as semiconductor manufacturers are lobbying the government to either suspend or relax regulations. Coincidentally, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is considering a visit to China in early July, and the Biden administration is holding the first high-level economic talks between China's newly appointed economic minister and Treasury Secretary Yellen to avoid overstimulating the Chinese government. Officials said they would monitor the situation until the end of the process.
The debate over new regulations is heating up due to the rise of generative AI tools like OpenAI's ChatGPT. In China, AI companies are starting to develop AI that follows ChatGPT, and American leadership has begun to view AI through the lens of national security.
Of particular concern is the impact that AI-equipped weapons will have on America's advantage in war. In other ways, the weaponization of AI could pose a major threat, such as producing chemical weapons or creating tools for malicious cyberattacks.
Protecting critical technology while minimizing damage to American and allied businesses is a major challenge for the Biden administration. In response to this, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced the aforementioned export restrictions in October 2022, and set out a policy to strictly control the distribution of cutting-edge chips and their manufacturing machinery. It wasn't codified. Therefore, since the fall of 2022, the United States has been negotiating with target companies and allied governments with a view to developing the final rule.
It was in response to these efforts that in January 2023, the Netherlands, home to major semiconductor manufacturing equipment company ASML, and Japan, where TSMC and other companies are building new factories, agreed to align with the United States. .
Japan and the Netherlands agree to cooperate with the United States in tightening export restrictions on semiconductor manufacturing equipment to China - GIGAZINE
The United States is not thinking of completely cutting off the flow of semiconductors into China, and chipmakers from South Korea and Taiwan are continuing to operate or expand existing factories in China that make older, less advanced chips. The policy is to allow such activities.
NVIDIA declined to comment when contacted by the Wall Street Journal. AMD and the Department of Commerce also did not respond to requests for comment.
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