Biden administration officials have discussed capping sales of advanced AI chips from Nvidia and other American companies on a country-specific basis, people familiar with the matter said, a move that would limit some nations’ artificial intelligence capabilities.
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The new approach would set a ceiling on export licenses for certain countries in the interest of national security, according to the people, who described the private discussions on condition of anonymity. Officials are focused on Persian Gulf countries that have a growing appetite for AI data centres and the deep pockets to fund them, the people said.
Deliberations are in early stages and remain fluid, the people said, noting that the idea has gained traction in recent weeks. The policy would build on a new framework to ease the licensing process for AI chip shipments to data centres in places like the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Commerce Department officials unveiled those regulations last month and said there are more rules coming.
The agency’s Bureau of Industry and Security, which oversees export controls, declined to comment. Nvidia, the market leader for AI chips, also declined to comment, as did Advanced Micro Devices. A representative for Intel, which also makes such processors, did not respond to a request for comment.
A spokesperson for the White House National Security Council declined to comment on the talks but pointed to a recent joint statement by the US and UAE on artificial intelligence. In it, the two countries acknowledged the “tremendous potential of AI for good”, as well as the “challenges and risks of this emerging technology and the vital importance of safeguards”.
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Setting country-based caps would tighten restrictions that originally targeted China’s ambitions in artificial intelligence, as Washington considers the security risks of AI development around the world. Already, the Biden administration has restricted AI chip shipments by companies like Nvidia and AMD to more than 40 countries across the Middle East, Africa and Asia over fears their products could be diverted to China.