“We want to make sure that we cut off any way for the Chinese to access our models or train their own models,” Raimondo said in an interview last month.
China's development of AI and other next-generation technologies is a top concern for the Biden administration, which views China as a major global strategic competitor.
The US government has sought to curb China's progress by restricting chip exports to the country and sanctioning individual Chinese companies, but the country's tech giants have managed to make significant progress despite US restraints. It's here.
China's semiconductor industry weathers tough year due to tougher US sanctions
China's semiconductor industry weathers tough year due to tougher US sanctions
One of the key updates targets China-based companies with operations in more than 40 countries that use other countries as intermediaries to secure semiconductors they don't have access to in their own countries. It is an attempt to prevent this.
But what the rules don't address is whether Chinese companies can leverage the capabilities of these chips via the cloud.
It's unclear exactly how the United States would regulate that kind of activity. Cloud services do not involve the transfer of physical goods, and the Department of Commerce specifically states that cloud services are beyond the scope of export controls.
Congress says to tighten US restrictions on access to key Chinese technologies
Congress says to tighten US restrictions on access to key Chinese technologies
“Additional authority may be needed in this area,” Thea Kendler, assistant secretary for export control, told lawmakers last month.
U.S. cloud providers are concerned that restrictions on their activities with overseas users without comparable measures by allies risk putting U.S. companies at a disadvantage.
Raimondo said Friday that the Commerce Department would conduct a separate investigation into the safety testing results of the companies developing LLMs, but he did not provide details of what the companies would request.
Microsoft, Amazon and Alphabet did not respond to requests for comment.
