A senior US congressional Democrat influential on China and tech policy criticised US President Donald Trump’s administration for its rescission of an AI diffusion rule on Friday, calling the move a “horrible idea” that would ultimately benefit China.
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“They’re rescinding prohibitions on whom we can sell the most advanced semiconductor chips to in the world, and one of them is in the Middle East,” said US congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, an Illinois Democrat and ranking member of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.
“And so, we’re about to sell the most advanced semiconductor chips in the world to companies in the UAE and in Saudi Arabia, which is a horrible idea,” he continued.
“They’re just going to sell that stuff and make it available to the Chinese.”
The rule in question, called the “framework for artificial intelligence diffusion”, was issued days before the end of the Joe Biden administration in January. It was meant to limit global access to AI chips and set to come into effect on May 15.
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