The United States intends to tighten restrictions on the creation of supercomputers in China with the participation of its citizens, residents and companies, writes the HPCwire resource.
In July, a bill drafted by the Office of Investment Security (OIS) was released that would prohibit US citizens and permanent residents from engaging in supercomputing-related activities with countries and territories of concern to the US government, which includes China. , Hong Kong and Macau. They will also be required to report any transactions related to these activities.
The draft “Provisions Relating to U.S. Investment in Certain Technologies and National Security Products in Countries of Concern” was open for comment until August 5, but comments from various experts and organizations are still being received.
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Supercomputing activities regulated by this bill “include the development, installation, sale, or manufacture of any supercomputer equipped with advanced integrated circuits that can provide theoretical computing power of 100 Pflops of double precision (FP64) or 200 Pflops of single precision (FP32) in with a volume of 1178 m3 or less.” Simply put, we are talking about fairly high-density HPC solutions.
In addition, U.S. citizens and residents will be required to report certain HPC-related transactions to the government if they hold a position with a foreign company, such as a partner, manager, or investment advisor. They are also charged with monitoring and preventing foreign entities from conducting transactions with China in the context of supercomputing.
Some in the US computer industry reacted negatively to the bill, saying the proposed restrictions were arbitrary. Others have disliked the expansion of government oversight, which they believe will stifle AI innovation. It also argues that the law does not take into account the impact on the competitiveness of American technology companies in the global market.
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In particular, the new rules may affect AI chip manufacturer Cerebras, which has entered into a partnership to create nine Condor Galaxy AI supercomputers for the UAE-based G42. However, G42 is also reportedly supplying technology to China. This, however, did not stop her from entering into a $1.5 billion agreement with Microsoft.
Venture capital firm a16z, which itself rents out accelerators, has asked the government to remove the performance clause from the regulation. It has invested in hundreds of AI startups that require enormous computing power. According to a16z, the performance requirements of AI systems have changed rapidly in just a few years. Therefore, any restrictions introduced now may very quickly become irrelevant.
The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) has warned that US chipmakers will be forced to lose market share to foreign competitors. And in the absence of US investment activity, foreign investors will appear in countries that cause concern. This could “undermine U.S. leadership and strategic advantage in critical technology sectors such as semiconductors and other strategic industries that rely on semiconductors,” SIA said.
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In turn, the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) said the proposed rules would impose a significant cost burden on US venture capital investments across the board. Compliance costs could be as high as $100 million/year, much higher than the US Treasury Department’s estimate of $10 million/year. The NVCA noted that many startups rely heavily on AI for their strategy, and the burden of regulatory compliance will increase their costs of doing business and “each of the approximately fifteen thousand venture capital investments made in the United States.”
Also raising questions is the vagueness of the list of persons who are required to comply with the new rules. All previous sanctions, although they slowed down, did not prevent the creation of Chinese supercomputers, including those on chips of their own design. In addition, after the latest restrictions were introduced, all American chipmakers adjusted the specifications of their products so as not to lose the large and important Chinese market for them.