In its latest jab at Beijing, the US would empower companies such as Google and Microsoft to act as gatekeepers worldwide for highly sought-after access to artificial intelligence (AI) chips, two people familiar with the draft plan said.
Under the scheme, to be released as soon as this month, these companies would have to comply with strict requirements, including reporting key information to the US government and blocking Chinese access to AI chips. That would permit them to offer AI capabilities within the cloud overseas without a license, the sources said.
The new rules, some of whose details are being reported for the first time, show officials are scrambling in the waning days of US President Joe Biden’s administration to streamline the process for approving AI chip exports while also preventing bad actors from accessing them.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The US Department of Commerce declined to comment on the content and timing of the new regulations. Sources cautioned the administration’s plans might change.
Alphabet, Google and Microsoft did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The measure takes a page from a national security agreement Microsoft inked with the US government in April allowing it to provide AI technology to Emirati firm G42, the sources said.
Under the new draft rules, other companies beyond those with gatekeeper status would compete for licenses to import a smaller number of high-end Nvidia and AMD AI chips in each country, one of the sources said.
Nvidia, which designs the world’s most powerful AI chips, said it is ready to work with the administration on the rules. AMD did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Exempted from the caps would be 19 allied countries such as the Netherlands, Japan and Taiwan, which would have unlimited access to the AI chips and the capability they provide, two of the sources said.
Outside the framework would be a list of embargoed countries, including Russia, China, Iran and Venezuela, which are already blocked from acquiring US AI semiconductors and would remain so.
However, the caps could upset some countries.
Geoffrey Gertz, former White House official and now a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security think tank, said a global program of country caps “would likely raise significant concerns from US partners and allies around the world, who are wary of the US acting as a unilateral arbiter on who gets to access advanced chips critical for AI.”
The US government is conducting a final review of an “Artificial Intelligence Diffusion” rule drafted by the US Commerce Department, a government posting said last week, indicating it might be closing in on publication. Three sources said the posting referred to the AI caps.
The rules build on a program unveiled in September that gives permission to pre-approved data centers abroad to receive AI chips without a license, two sources said.
To achieve that status, data centers must provide information about customers, business activities, access restrictions and cybersecurity.
MISINFORMATION: The generated content tends to adopt China’s official stance, such as ‘Taiwan is currently governed by the Chinese central government,’ the NSB said Five China-developed artificial intelligence (AI) language models exhibit cybersecurity risks and content biases, an inspection conducted by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The five AI tools are: DeepSeek, Doubao (豆包), Yiyan (文心一言), Tongyi (通義千問) and Yuanbao (騰訊元寶), the bureau said, advising people to remain vigilant to protect personal data privacy and corporate business secrets. The NSB said it, in accordance with the National Intelligence Services Act (國家情報工作法), has reviewed international cybersecurity reports and intelligence, and coordinated with the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau and the National Police Agency’s Criminal Investigation Bureau to conduct an inspection of China-made AI language
BOOST IN CONFIDENCE: The sale sends a clear message of support for Taiwan and dispels rumors that US President Donald Trump ‘sold out’ the nation, an expert said The US government on Thursday announced a possible sale to Taiwan of fighter jet parts, which was estimated to cost about US$330 million, in a move that an expert said “sends a clear message of support for Taiwan” amid fears that Washington might be wavering in its attitude toward Taipei. It was the first announcement of an arms sale to Taiwan since US President Donald Trump returned to the White House earlier this year. The proposed package includes non-standard components, spare and repair parts, consumables and accessories, as well repair and return support for the F-16, C-130 and Indigenous Defense Fighter aircraft,
CHECKING BOUNDARIES: China wants to disrupt solidarity among democracies and test their red lines, but it is instead pushing nations to become more united, an expert said The US Department of State on Friday expressed deep concern over a Chinese public security agency’s investigation into Legislator Puma Shen (沈伯洋) for “secession.” “China’s actions threaten free speech and erode norms that have underpinned the cross-strait ‘status quo’ for decades,” a US Department of State spokesperson said. The Chongqing Municipal Public Security Bureau late last month listed Shen as “wanted” and launched an investigation into alleged “secession-related” criminal activities, including his founding of the Kuma Academy, a civil defense organization that prepares people for an invasion by China. The spokesperson said that the US was “deeply concerned” about the bureau investigating Shen
‘TROUBLEMAKER’: Most countries believe that it is China — rather than Taiwan — that is undermining regional peace and stability with its coercive tactics, the president said China should restrain itself and refrain from being a troublemaker that sabotages peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday. Lai made the remarks after China Coast Guard vessels sailed into disputed waters off the Senkaku Islands — known as the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) in Taiwan — following a remark Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made regarding Taiwan. Takaichi during a parliamentary session on Nov. 7 said that a “Taiwan contingency” involving a Chinese naval blockade could qualify as a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, and trigger Tokyo’s deployment of its military for defense. Asked about the escalating tensions
RSS