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The US government has announced a new round of regulations on global AI chip exports, dividing the world into three tiers of access. Close US allies will receive unrestricted access, while other countries face numerical limits. The move aims to address national security concerns and maintain US technological leadership.
The US government has announced new regulations on global AI chip exports, creating three tiers of access for countries around the world.The rules restrict exports to certain countries, including China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea, citing national security concerns.Close US allies receive unrestricted access to AI chips, while other countries face specific numerical limits on exports.A two-tier system allows for some exceptions, such as companies with "Universal Verified End User" or "National Verified End User" status.The regulations also control the transfer of AI model weights and introduce controls on data center construction.The US tech industry has expressed concerns about the regulations, citing restrictions that could impact technology found in gaming PCs.
The US government has announced a new round of regulations on global AI chip exports, marking a significant shift in the country's approach to managing access to cutting-edge technology. The rules, which will take effect in 120 days, create three tiers of access for countries around the world, with close US allies receiving unrestricted access to AI chips.
The new regulations build on previous controls from September 2022 and October 2023, which restricted exports to certain countries such as China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea. The Biden administration fears that these chips could be used to undermine national security, citing potential risks including the development of weapons of mass destruction, cyber operations, and human rights abuses.
The rules establish specific numerical limits on AI chip exports, with first-tier countries facing no restrictions. Second-tier countries can receive up to 50,000 advanced computing chips, with the possibility to double that cap to 100,000 if they sign technology security agreements with the US. Most buyers of up to 1,700 advanced chips will not require licenses or count against these national caps.
The Commerce Department has also announced two new verification systems for trusted buyers. Companies based in allied nations can apply for "Universal Verified End User" (UVEU) status, allowing them to deploy up to 7 percent of their global AI computing capacity in individual countries. Companies outside restricted nations can seek "National Verified End User" status to purchase computing power equivalent to 320,000 advanced GPUs over two years.
Cloud service providers have also received special consideration under the rules, with companies like Microsoft, Google, and Amazon able to apply for global authorizations to build data centers, bypassing country quotas after meeting security and human rights requirements. However, US-headquartered providers must maintain at least 50 percent of their AI computing power inside the US, with no more than 25 percent outside tier-one countries.
The rules also introduce controls on AI model weights—the neural network files that determine how AI models work. The regulations restrict transfers of these weights for "closed-weight" models to non-trusted actors while allowing unrestricted sharing of open-weight model information.
Nvidia has responded to the news, calling the regulations "sweeping overreach" that restricts technology found in common gaming PCs. Other companies in the tech industry have expressed similar concerns, with Oracle warning that chip export restrictions could push the global AI and GPU market toward Chinese competitors.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo disagrees with this assessment, arguing that the new chip export rules are necessary to maintain US technological leadership. "The US leads AI now—both AI development and AI chip design, and it's critical that we keep it that way," she said.
In a statement, the White House emphasized the need for these regulations, citing potential risks including the development of weapons of mass destruction, supporting powerful offensive cyber operations, and aiding human rights abuses. The administration has long been concerned about the proliferation of AI technology and its potential misuse by adversaries.
The new regulations are part of a broader effort to manage access to cutting-edge technology in the US, with implications for national security, trade, and technological leadership. As the global landscape continues to evolve, one thing is clear: the US government will continue to take steps to protect its interests and ensure that sensitive technologies do not fall into the wrong hands.
Related Information:
https://arstechnica.com/ai/2025/01/biden-administration-puts-quotas-on-global-ai-chip-sales/
Published: Mon Jan 13 16:03:17 2025 by llama3.2 3B Q4_K_M
