US Tightens Curbs on AI Chip Exports To China, Widening Rift With US Businesses

The Biden administration is tightening restrictions on China's ability to buy advanced semiconductors, fueling friction with U.S. businesses that sell to the vast Chinese market. From a report: The Commerce Department on Tuesday said it would significantly constrict exports of artificial-intelligence chips, making it tougher for U.S. companies Nvidia and Intel to sell existing products in China -- or to introduce new chips to circumvent the rules. The move aims to close perceived loopholes in export controls announced a year ago, which themselves had faced strong opposition from the global semiconductor industry and escalated tensions with Beijing.

The goal, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told reporters, is to limit China's "access to advanced semiconductors that could fuel breakthroughs in artificial intelligence and sophisticated computers." The chips are critical to Chinese military applications, she said, a nod to concerns that the U.S. could fall behind China in key defense technologies. The updated rules significantly expand the U.S. government's authority to determine what products U.S. companies can and can't sell in the name of national security. Shipments of high-end AI chips, including those developed by Nvidia and Intel for the Chinese market, are banned without a license. And "gray zone" chips just below those thresholds will now require notification to the government, which can then deny their sales.

USA must invent Skynet first

[oumuamua]

Skynet then says: 'ha jokes on you'
It is almost better if the AI breaks free, a worse scenario is just what if the AI followed orders, doing the bidding of the elite?
A scifi that looks at that world is Imperial Radch Series, so far just read this one: https://www.goodreads.com/book... [goodreads.com]

Stop with the import/export curbs of anything

[MIPSPro]

History says free trade tends to generate wealth and prosperity for all. Limits on trade generally cause a decline in wealth or asymmetry where wealth is funneled to elites, due to their ability to control the machinery of government. However, subsidies do not contribute to the idea of free trade and also distort the market and I struggle, here. I would limit trade of goods which are subsidized by foreign governments and perhaps also goods or services rendered with slaves or prisoners.

Re:

[Anonymous Coward]

BAHH HAA HAA - You're funny. Trickle down economics does not trickle down. Free-trade does not equal freedom for all. History has shown, time and time again, that the general tenants of free trade tends to concentrate wealth in the hands of a very very few individuals. In economics, a rising tide does NOT raise all boats.

I'm also not a fan of extreme regulation, socialism, communism, Marxism, or any of the other fanatical ideas where the state dictates everything. I understand the conditions of where, w

Re:

[larryjoe]

History says free trade tends to generate wealth and prosperity for all.

While an argument might be made that wealth and prosperity increases on average given a sufficiently large target population and time window, it has never been true that all prosper. In fact, history shows over and over again that wealth distribution is highly nonuniform with significant portions of the population living in subsistence conditions, that certain industries and regions are advantaged or disadvantaged, and that the disadvantaged often never recover economically in their lifetimes or in the lif

Re:

[MIPSPro]

In fact, history shows over and over again that wealth distribution is highly nonuniform

Yes, it does. However, that's not where the focus should be. The powerful argument made by free trade advocates is that, despite an uneven distribution, it's the overall wealth available to all classes is greater. However, this is similar to the idea that it's better to be poor in a rich country than poor in a poor country, which sounds good but I'm not convinced of due to the fact that being poor anywhere sucks sufficiently. Alternatively, would you rather be a poor Ukranian peasant during the Holomodor or

Re:

[sinij]

History says free trade tends to generate wealth and prosperity for all.

Thing is, China does not engage in free trade, nor does it respect intellectual property. If US corporations were still capable of long-term planning they would not be trading with China, as long-term they always rip you off.

Re:

[christoban]

Exactly. China steals your IP no matter how clever you think you are, then in a few years it eventually destroys your company with fake news stories. Musk learned that recently!

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[MIPSPro]

Doesn't that suggest that if you want to play the free trade game, it's got to be with partners who will not cheat? If they use slaves or they subsidize industry, I guess the only fair thing to do is refuse to trade with them on those goods. It's the moral thing to do if they are slavers. It's the sensible thing to do if they are trying to destroy one of your domestic industries then take it over (via subsidies). I don't really know what alternatives exist besides "ignore everything they do no matter what a

Re:

[Linux Torvalds]

Sounds like you have a bit too much blood in your lead stream

What's with all the pay-walled links lately?

[TAiNiUM]

This works better for me: https://www.axios.com/2023/10/... [axios.com]

nVidia

[Vlad_the_Inhaler]

The version of the sanctions I have read about are aimed firmly at nVidia.
The company spent however many zillions it cost do develop new chips - ones which were thought to be below the "sanctions" threshold - and some committee gets to say "no" with no redress.

Re:

[arglebargle_xiv]

Given that virtually all the "AI" use I've seen is cheating on homework, generating fake books to sell on Amazon, and rendering images of women with physically impossible proportions, what exactly does the USG think China is going to do with these things? And given their zero, if not negative, "benefits", shouldn't the US be giving them to China for free?

Re:

[christoban]

The "united states" government doesn't serve the people it only serves the disgusting jews. If that isn't evident then you haven't been paying attention lately.

CAN WE BAN THIS ACCOUNT PLEASE?

they also want to ban

[BrookSmith]

They also want to ban the export of 3d printers because apparently you can make guns out of them. Ludites R Us, are also looking at how a firewall can be implemented to stop China gaining access to the global internet.

There was a reason Stuxnet was only coded to jinx

[keysdisease]

Because in spite of international sanctions on Irans nuclear program the German industrialists were still selling their industrial process controllers to a regime that would cheerfully blow them and the rest of the west to hell.