Biden will present measures that seek to restrict China’s ability to develop AI

The Biden administration could announce on Monday a broad set of measures designed to further restrict China’s ability to develop advanced AI, according to information shared with WIRED by people familiar with the matter. The controls could include the sanction of dozens of Chinese companies that produce equipment to manufacture semiconductorsas well as the imposition of restrictions on a handful of chip manufacturing plants, some of which have ties to the Chinese technology giant Huawei.

The US Department of Commerce (DOC) has also discussed including controls on the sale of high-bandwidth memory (HBM), an advanced type of 3D computer memory component that is used in high-performance graphics processing units (GPUs) and custom AI chips. months ago, Bloomberg reported that the Biden administration planned to restrict China’s access to HBM chips.

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In total, the Biden administration would end up adding about 200 Asian companies to a list of entities maintained by the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS).a DOC agency that would require other companies to acquire special licenses to supply them software or products from the US. The US Government has been discussing the new measures for months with its allies and representatives of the semiconductor industry; The exact details planned for Monday were still up in the air earlier this week. A DOC spokesman declined to comment. Huawei also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Reuters reported that, in an email to its members, the US Chamber of Commerce warned that a new round of export controls aimed at China would arrive “before the Thanksgiving holiday,” although that timing appears to have passed. delayed a few days. “China firmly opposes the United States overstepping the concept of national security, abusing export control measures and making malicious attempts to blockade and suppress our country,” Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Mao Ning said this week. Chinese Foreign Affairs, in a regularly scheduled press conference, in response to the planned controls.

Limits on China’s access to HBM appear aimed at slowing the country’s efforts to develop domestic chips capable of training very large and powerful AI models. According to statements made by people to WIRED, the new restrictions are expected to block access to HMB3, the latest and most advanced version of the technology, and impose some limits on access to the previous generation, known as HMB2. This is not the first time the US government has imposed export controls on China with the aim of limiting the use of advanced silicon; However, the restrictions did not prevent Huawei from developing competitive chips to train large AI models. The Chinese tech giant, which was temporarily crippled by US sanctions half a decade ago, sent samples of its latest Ascend AI training chip to its customers in September, according to the newspaper. South China Morning Post.