A New Data Center Rule to Restrict the Advancement of Advanced Semiconductors, Computers, Systems, and Software in the United States

“In its last days in office, the Biden Administration seeks to undermine America’s leadership with a 200+ page regulatory morass, drafted in secret and without proper legislative review,” Nvidia said in a statement. The sweeping overreach would impose bureaucratic control over how America?s leading Semiconductor, Computers, Systems and even Software are designed and marketed globally.

The rule states that companies in countries that are not subject to arms control will be able to get up to 1,700 of the latest artificial intelligence chips. They will be able to apply for a special license to acquire more chips, to build very large scale datacenters using US technology, or to gain access to the most powerful closed model “weights” made by US firms. Companies will be required to have adequate physical and cyber-security to obtain a license.

“The US leads the world in AI now, both AI development and AI chip design, and it’s critical that we keep it that way,” the US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said ahead of today’s announcement.

New data center rules aim to keep the development of the most advanced AI models within the borders of the United States and its partners. Microsoft says it can fulfill the technology needs of countries and customers around the world thanks to the high security standards found in the rule, according to the New York Times.

“The semiconductors that power [AI] and the model weights are, as we all know, a dual use technology,” Raimondo added ahead of the announcement. They can be used by our adversaries to run nuclear simulations, build bio weapons and advance their militaries, but they’re also used in commercial applications.

China, Iran, and North Korea are all banned from obtaining advanced chips because of their arms embargo. The new rule will for the first time restrict their access to advanced models.

Supply chain activities, including the design, manufacturing, and storage of chips will be exempt from the rule. The rule will not restrict Meta’s Llama, the administration says.

The trustworthy nations in the world: How far can advanced chips and artificial intelligence from China come from achieving an equivalence between the US and China?

The list of trusted nations are the UK, Canada, Australia, Japan, France, Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Republic of Korea, Spain, Sweden and Taiwan.

The Biden administration announced a bold and controversial new export control scheme today, designed to prevent the advanced chips and artificial intelligence models themselves from ending up in the hands of adversaries such as China.