(Bloomberg) – The United States will require cloud service providers such as Amazon.com and Microsoft to identify and proactively investigate foreign customers developing artificial intelligence applications on their platforms. This is part of a growing technology dispute between Washington and China.
Most Read Articles on Bloomberg
The Biden administration’s proposal announced Monday would require companies to reveal the names and IP addresses of their foreign customers. Amazon and its peers, including Alphabet Inc.’s Google, would be required to develop processes to collect such details and report suspicious activity, according to draft rules released Sunday.
If enacted, the U.S. government could use these requirements to block Chinese companies’ key means of accessing data centers and servers critical to training and hosting AI. They are also charged with the responsibility of collecting, storing, and analyzing customer data on cloud services, a burden similar to the strict “know-your-customer” rules that govern the financial industry.
Officials at a major U.S. cloud provider, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal assessments, said gathering detailed customer information is difficult and costly, putting U.S. companies at a disadvantage compared to foreign competitors who don’t face such information. warned that there was a risk of being exposed to requirements.
Fred Humphries, Microsoft’s vice president for U.S. government affairs, said in a statement that the company welcomes the customer awareness and cybersecurity requirements for AI infrastructure and looks forward to providing input on the draft rule. Representatives for Amazon did not respond to requests for comment, and a Google spokesperson declined to comment.
China’s development of AI and other next-generation technologies is a top concern for the Biden administration, which views China as a major global strategic competitor.
Secretary Gina Raimondo said Friday that her team is focused on eradicating national security threats posed by AI development, and that effort will likely focus on Chinese companies. Stated. The US government is already working to limit China’s access to cutting-edge semiconductors and wants to limit Chinese companies’ ability to develop AI with potential military capabilities.
“It’s very dangerous for these models to fall into the hands of non-state actors and people who are not allies,” Raimondo said in Washington.
Read more: US requires cloud companies to report building AI by foreign users
Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Monday at a regular press conference in Beijing that the United States should cooperate on AI “instead of separating, breaking chains, and building fences.”
President Joe Biden in October would require disclosure of cloud information to detect foreign adversaries who may use AI to launch what the proposal calls “malicious cyber-enabled activities.” The Ministry of Commerce was instructed to do so.
Specifically, the U.S. requires cloud providers to help them address risks including “fraud, theft, promotion of terrorism, and other activities contrary to U.S. national security interests,” according to Commerce. the ministry said in a statement on Monday. The United States is seeking comments on the proposed rule through April 29 before finalizing the regulation.
Read more: China secretly transforms Huawei into a powerful chip warfare weapon
The Commerce Department said it may create an exception to the background check rules for foreign subsidiaries of U.S. cloud providers. It also noted previous commenters who have called for the broadest possible definition of U.S. cloud services, adding that it would clarify whether foreign subsidiaries fall under the rule.
The US government has sought to curb China’s progress by restricting chip exports to the country and sanctioning individual Chinese companies, but the country’s high-tech leaders have managed to make significant progress despite US restraint. I have accomplished it.
The US tightened controls in October to capture more chips, equipment and territory. One of the key updates targets China-based companies with operations in more than 40 countries that use other countries as intermediaries to secure semiconductors they don’t have access to in their own countries. The aim is to prevent this.
Read more: Billionaires and bureaucrats mobilize China in AI race with US
–With contributions from Dina Bass and Colum Murphy.
(Updates industry comment starting in 4th paragraph.)
Most Read Articles on Bloomberg Businessweek
©2024 Bloomberg LP