Biden Admin Cracks Down On Chip Sales And Ai Systems

The Biden-Harris Administration has released a new rule aimed at regulating chip sales and AI systems in a way that enhances U.S. national security and economic strength. The Interim Final Rule on Artificial Intelligence Diffusion builds on previous regulations and takes significant steps to ensure responsible sharing of technology.

Key Actions:

1. Restrictions on Chip Sales: The rule restricts chip sales to 18 key allies and partners, allowing for seamless large-scale purchases.
2. No License Required: No license is required for chip orders with collective computation power up to roughly 1,700 advanced GPUs.
3. Universal Verified End User (UVEU) Status: Entities that meet high security and trust standards and are headquartered in close allies and partners can obtain highly trusted UVEU status.
4. National Verified End User Status: Entities meeting the same security requirements and are headquartered anywhere not designated as a country of concern can apply for National Verified End User status, allowing them to purchase computational power equivalent to up to 320,000 advanced GPUs over the next two years.
5. Government-to-Government Arrangements: Governments can sign government-to-government arrangements to work together to cultivate an international ecosystem of shared values regarding the development, deployment, and use of AI.

Preventing “Countries of Concern” from Accessing Advanced AI Systems:

1. Ensuring Advanced Semiconductors are Not Used for Training Advanced AI Systems: The rule ensures that advanced semiconductors sold abroad are not used by countries of concern to train advanced AI systems, while still allowing access for general-purpose applications.
2. Restricting Transfer of Model Weights: The rule restricts the transfer of model weights for advanced, closed-weight models to untrusted parties.

The rule builds on previous regulations aimed at protecting national security, including an August 2023 executive order limiting U.S. investments in Chinese companies involved in “national security sensitive technologies.” It also follows 2022 restrictions imposed on exports of AI-focused semiconductors and related equipment to China.

Objectives:

• Enhance U.S. national security
• Promote economic strength
• Ensure responsible sharing of technology

The rule aims to prevent the offshore sale of critical technology and ensure that the world’s AI runs on American rails, as emphasized by the White House statement.