Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said Friday that she is considering requiring cloud server providers to report details on whether foreign users are developing artificial intelligence models, an extension of the Biden administration’s efforts to institute AI safety and privacy rules.
“We’re beginning the process of requiring U.S. cloud companies to tell us every time a non-U.S. entity uses their cloud to train a large language model,” Raimondo said during a Friday appearance at a Hoover Institution event. Raimondo did so without naming any particular countries or companies.
Raimondo said that while the United States is leading in AI development, guardrails and regulations are necessary due to the threats posed by the technology. “We’re trying to walk that balance of speeding up innovation while doing it safely,” Raimondo said.
These guidelines would add to rules established by President Joe Biden’s executive order on artificial intelligence that requires companies developing AI models to report their model training and development. These rules were implemented through the Defense Production Act, a law that gives the president sweeping authority to compel industries to act in a manner that serves national security interests.
The Biden administration has also focused on limiting China’s access to cutting-edge AI tools. The Commerce Department implemented export restrictions in September 2022 on Chinese access to advanced semiconductors. Those restrictions have since expanded to include the tools required to make semiconductors. The measures have led China to invest tens of billions of dollars in domestic manufacturing subsidies and affected the country’s ability to compete.
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Most recently, the Commerce Department restricted the sale of Nvidia chips to Middle Eastern countries. Nvidia is considered the gold standard for AI model semiconductors. China, though, has gotten access to those chips through third parties.
The Commerce Department did not respond to requests for comment from the Washington Examiner.
