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Reacting to recent export limitations on AI GPUs, Nvidia released a harsh blog denouncing the departing Biden-Harris administration. The administration’s Interim Final Rule regarding Artificial Intelligence Diffusion predominantly impacts China with GPU limitations, mentioned Newsweek.
Nvidia opposes this view. “These rules, while presented as an ‘anti-China’ strategy, offer no improvements to U.S. security. These new regulations aim to control technology across the globe, including tech that’s already widely accessible in standard gaming PCs and consumer equipment. Instead of addressing any threat, these Biden regulations will reduce America’s global edge, weakening the innovation that has kept the U.S. ahead,” expressed Nvidia’s VP of government affairs Ned Finkle.
Nvidia’s observation about hardware found in standard gaming PCs is noteworthy. Nvidia produces some of the top graphics cards available, yet the fresh restrictions are majorly centered on AI, especially large bulk AI chip orders. The rule states restrictions commence on orders with “combined computation power nearing 1,700 advanced GPUs,” pointing out that the “vast majority” of orders fall below this threshold and, as such, aren’t restricted.
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Focus Taiwan notes that 18 primary allies of the U.S. aren’t subjected to any restrictions either. These “tier-one” nations include Taiwan, Germany, Canada, Japan, Norway, and the United Kingdom, among others. Countries categorized under “tier-three” face the strictest limitations, which include China, North Korea, Iran, and Russia.
Since it’s an interim rule, these restrictions aren’t enforceable for 120 days and fully come into effect after a year. Nvidia states it anticipates a “return to policies that bolster American leadership” with the forthcoming Trump administration. “As the initial Trump Administration demonstrated, America triumphs via innovation, competition, and by disseminating our tech globally—not by retreating behind a barrier of governmental overextension,” says the blog post.
Besides AI chip restrictions, the new rule also imposes limitations on closed-weight models. These are AI models with certain proprietary weights, which include models such as GPT-4, the engine behind the hugely popular ChatGPT. The Biden administration claims that no restrictions will be applied to open-weight models under the new rules.
With only a few days left for the Biden-Harris administration and a considerable 120-day period for public commentary on these new regulations, it’s tough to foresee these AI restrictions remaining. Nvidia evidently hopes they don’t, asserting that “global advancement is now in peril,” while applauding the first Trump administration for establishing “the groundwork for America’s current strength and triumph in AI.”
