Biden unveils last round of AI chip curbs aimed at China, Russia

The Biden administration has issued new restrictions on the export of US-developed computer chips that power artificial intelligence (AI) systems, in a final effort to prevent rivals like China from accessing the advanced technology, just a week before leaving office.

The fresh curbs, the culmination of years of attempts to block China from gaining ground in its military and industrial leadership efforts, are expected to further inflame tensions between Washington and Beijing ahead of the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump next week. They’ve also triggered intense criticism from US tech giants like Nvidia and Oracle.

Speaking to reporters on Sunday, US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said the new rules were “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.”

The global export framework, announced Monday, creates three tiers of countries for exports of advanced AI chips and technology. There are no new restrictions for partners and allies like Australia, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.

A second tier of countries including China and Russia, which are already blocked from buying advanced chips, will be newly subject to restrictions on the sale of the most powerful “closed” AI models, which refer to models whose underlying architectures are not released to the public.

The biggest changes will be faced by the third group, which comprises most of the world, which will soon have new caps on the amount of computing power that can be bought, although they will be able to apply for additional quotas subject to certain security requirements. Analysts have said this change is intended to prevent China from accessing AI chips through third countries, particularly in the Middle East.

The restrictions are being announced against a global backdrop of soaring demand for AI chips made by the likes of Nvidia, AMD and Intel. With days to go before Biden leaves office, the rules now enter a 120-day comment period but will take effect before that period is over.

“We hope that the next administration takes full advantage of those 120 days to listen to experts, industry, industry players, partner countries,” Raimondo said. “I fully expect the next administration may make changes as a result of that input.”

Senior Biden administration officials, speaking on background, were asked Sunday about the extent to which they consulted with the incoming Trump administration. Officials would only acknowledge there were “ongoing discussions about a range of issues.”

“We believe we’re in a critical window right now, particularly vis-a-vis China,” one official said. “Every minute counts from our perspective.”