October 23, 2024
A Fight Among China Hawks Could Imperil U.S. AI Dominance
Last week, news reports indicated the Commerce Department might restrict exports of artificial intelligence-focused semiconductor chips to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and other countries. This followed a leak earlier this year that national security experts in the administration are quietly conducting a broader review of licenses proposed by Microsoft for consummation of its deal with G42, the UAE data center behemoth.
These potential restrictions reflect a deep ambivalence within the Biden administration on export of AI technology and the $1.5 billion G42 deal specifically. How the administration resolves this dispute will have an impact U.S. counter-China strategy, the U.S. posture in the Middle East, and American AI competitiveness. We think a forward-leaning approach toward foreign partnerships would best advance US AI dominance.
Rolling the dice now on partnerships like the G42 deal could be critical to ensuring U.S. dominance.
The AI foreign policy fight among China hawks boils down to the following: one faction in the administration, led by Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, believes the U.S. must give foreign partners access to our AI technology to deny Chinese dominance in this space. This includes everything from high-tech routers and network switches to railways ferrying critical minerals, such as copper, from African mines.
President Joe Biden's scheduled visit to Angola in December reflects the priority placed by this administration on massive investment in the Lobito Corridor in Africa to stem Chinese influence and specifically facilitate Western control of copper.
Read the full article on Newsweek.
More from CNAS
-
Red Lines and Supply Chains: Trump’s Approach to Trade and Security
Video
The Trump administration is increasingly linking trade policy to national security. Join Emily Kilcrease, senior fellow and director of the Energy, Economics, and Security Pro...
By Emily Kilcrease
-
Ziemba: Struck By Energy Deal Between India & Saudi Arabia
Video
Saudi Arabia and India have agreed to deepen energy ties and cooperate more closely on tourism and technology as the countries seek to strengthen relations at a time of turbul...
By Rachel Ziemba
-
What is President Trump’s Economic Plan?
Podcast
Global financial markets plunged as investors braced themselves for a shock to the flow of international trade. Faced with prolonged market turmoil, within days the US Preside...
By Emily Kilcrease
-
Bloomberg Businessweek: Age of Economic Warfare
Podcast
Columbia University Senior Research Scholar and adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, Edward Fishman on US credibility and how that is affecting its...
By Edward Fishman
