US tech giant Nvidia released a statement Monday criticizing newly released Biden administration rules to regulates sales of artificial intelligence (AI) chips to foreign countries in an effort to tighten Washington's grip on AI chip flows across the world.
The "unprecedented and misguided" rules would jeopardize US leadership in AI technologies, the statement said.
"The first Trump administration laid the foundation for America's current strength and success in AI, fostering an environment where US industry could compete and win on merit without compromising national security," it added.
The company highlighted the importance of AI technologies, saying that companies and universities around the world are tapping mainstream AI to advance health care, agriculture, manufacturing, education and countless other fields, driving economic growth and unlocking the potential of nations.
But that progress is now at risk because of the Biden administration's plans to restrict access to mainstream computing applications with its unprecedented and misguided "AI diffusion" rule, which threatens to derail innovation and economic growth worldwide, according to the report.
"While cloaked in the guise of an 'anti-China' measure, these rules would do nothing to enhance US security.
"The new rules would control technology worldwide, including technology that is already widely available in mainstream gaming PCs and consumer hardware," it added.
A week before Biden leaves office, his administration has implemented additional limitations on the export of US-developed computer chips that drive AI systems with the AI diffusion rule, in a last-ditch attempt to keep competitors like China from gaining access to the cutting-edge technology.
Speaking to reporters Sunday, US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said the new rules were "designed to safeguard the most advanced AI technology and ensure that it stays out of the hands of our foreign adversaries but also enabling the broad diffusion and sharing of the benefits with partner countries."
