In the US, lawmakers have announced a bipartisan bill that will assist the Biden administration in applying export controls to the country’s top artificial intelligence (AI) models. On the evening of May 8, House Republicans Michael McCaul and John Molenaar, along with Democrats Raja Krishnamoorthi and Susan Wild, unveiled the proposal aimed at navigating future regulatory challenges related to AI exports.
AI on the Agenda in the US
This also grants the Commerce Department clear authority to prevent American citizens from collaborating with foreign agents in developing AI systems that could pose a potential risk to US national security. According to current legislation, it is more challenging for the US Commerce Department, which oversees export policy, to regulate open-source AI models. If the newly proposed bill is approved, it will minimize the obstacles in regulating the export of open-source AI.
This move follows a report published by Reuters on May 8, indicating that the US is ready to act to protect its domestically developed AI from China and Russia. It mentioned implementing export controls on the most advanced proprietary AI models. It is known that China uses US-origin open-source models like Meta’s Llama to develop its own AI.
What’s Happening in the Field of AI?
This also follows a recent agreement made on April 16 between Microsoft and the Dubai-based AI company G42 of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Microsoft has committed to a $1.5 billion deal to support local AI innovation in the UAE. This agreement will also provide the UAE access to the latest AI technologies developed by Microsoft in the US.
This step is one of many agreements Microsoft has made with foreign governments regarding the development and use of its AI models and cloud services, yet the primary concern of the US continues to be the potential acquisition of high-level AI technology by the Chinese government. In November 2023, 01.AI, one of China’s most high-profile AI companies founded by former Google executive Lee Kai-fu, announced that its AI model Yi-34B was developed using Meta’s Llama system.
This is one of several steps the US government has taken to impose sanctions on China and minimize its access to US-made AI technology. In January, Chinese AI firm Baidu faced potential sanctions due to allegations that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) was using the company’s technology for military purposes.
