Biden’s Parting Shot on AI
By Rebecca Grant: The Department of Commerce dropped the Regulatory Framework for the Responsible Diffusion of Advanced Artificial Intelligence Technology on Jan. 13, and outgoing President Joe Biden tried to give it momentum in his final foreign policy speech at the State Department at 2 PM that afternoon.
Biden urged the next administration to “carry forward” his AI policies, stating: “On Artificial intelligence, we are in the lead, and must stay in the lead. We must not offshore artificial intelligence as we once did with computer chips and other critical technologies. AI has the power to reshape economies, governments, national security, entire societies. The US and our closest allies must lead the way.”
The rule limits AI chip exports to most countries except for a select group of close U.S. allies and implements new controls on advanced AI models. Read the Commerce Department release on the rule here. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said: “This policy will help build a trusted technology ecosystem around the world and allow us to protect against the national security risks associated with AI, while ensuring controls do not stifle innovation or US technological leadership.”
Not so, according to industry. Nvidia wrote: “While cloaked in the guise of an “anti-China” measure, these rules would do nothing to enhance U.S. security. The new rules would control technology worldwide, including technology that is already widely available in mainstream gaming PCs and consumer hardware. Rather than mitigate any threat, the new Biden rules would only weaken America’s global competitiveness, undermining the innovation that has kept the U.S. ahead.”
The rule has a 120-day comment period, but the real question is how soon President-elect Trump will issue an Executive Order halting the rule.
Read more here from the Council on Foreign Relations.