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The Commerce Department is Considering National Security Restrictions on AI (nytimes.com)
An anonymous reader shares a report: A common belief among tech industry insiders is that Silicon Valley has dominated the internet because much of the worldwide network was designed and built by Americans. Now a growing number of those insiders are worried that proposed export restrictions could short-circuit the pre-eminence of American companies in the next big thing to hit their industry, artificial intelligence.
In November, the Commerce Department released a list of technologies, including artificial intelligence, that are under consideration for new export rules because of their importance to national security. Technology experts worry that blocking the export of A.I. to other countries, or tying it up in red tape, will help A.I. industries flourish in those nations -- China, in particular -- and compete with American companies.
"The number of cases where exports can be sufficiently controlled are very, very, very small, and the chance of making an error is quite large," said Jack Clark, head of policy at OpenAI, an artificial intelligence lab in San Francisco. "If this goes wrong, it could do real damage to the A.I. community." The export controls are being considered as the United States and China engage in a trade war. The Trump administration has been critical of the way China negotiates deals with American companies, often requiring the transfer of technology to Chinese partners as the cost of doing business in the country. And federal officials are making an aggressive argument that China has stolen American technology through hacking and industrial espionage.
In November, the Commerce Department released a list of technologies, including artificial intelligence, that are under consideration for new export rules because of their importance to national security. Technology experts worry that blocking the export of A.I. to other countries, or tying it up in red tape, will help A.I. industries flourish in those nations -- China, in particular -- and compete with American companies.
"The number of cases where exports can be sufficiently controlled are very, very, very small, and the chance of making an error is quite large," said Jack Clark, head of policy at OpenAI, an artificial intelligence lab in San Francisco. "If this goes wrong, it could do real damage to the A.I. community." The export controls are being considered as the United States and China engage in a trade war. The Trump administration has been critical of the way China negotiates deals with American companies, often requiring the transfer of technology to Chinese partners as the cost of doing business in the country. And federal officials are making an aggressive argument that China has stolen American technology through hacking and industrial espionage.
The bright side of this is that our IT closet cleaner won't be impacted by this since his IQ doesn't even match the dumbest AI around.
This is another chapter in the saga of export-grade cryptography.
I guess it's time to retire the t-shirt with the RSA formula and make a new one with
y = a[sum(wx+b)] on it.
That kind of language made sense when the language, culture, and technology were a single package.
Now all three are worldwide. If govt was not asleep at the wheel the last century we could have kept more technology confidential for a lot longer, sharing it only with countries that share our values. But we cannot keep it confidential forever in any case, and in some ways we are behind other countries with our values.
Not saying to give up but this president is not the right one to make any call on this. Politicians must fight to defer this conversation until someone more competent is elected.
Technology experts worry that blocking the export of A.I. to other countries, or tying it up in red tape, will help A.I. industries flourish in those nations -- China, in particular -- and compete with American companies.
So the NYT thinks exporting the technology to other countries after the US made the investment to develop it will stop the other countries - China in particular - from competing. I don't follow that argument.
Do these tech industry insiders work for Reynholm Industries? Google, Apple and Facebook are not "the internet".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
The Elders of the Internet would never stand for this nonsense.
biopowered.co.uk - catalytically cracking triglycerides for home automotive use since 2008. Just say no to big oil!
>> Technology experts worry that blocking the export of A.I. to other countries, or tying it up in red tape, will help A.I. industries flourish in those nations -- China, in particular -- and compete with American companies
If you think that China doesn't have other incentives to develop its own AI capabilities already, I have a bridge to sell you. The "embargo of AI = oh noes" is just FUD. And China's already getting pretty good on its own, e.g., https://www.inc.com/magazine/201809/amy-webb/china-artificial-intelligence.html
"Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it"
Anyone proposing this clearly does not recall the futile attempt to restrict cryptography.
You cannot ban the export of software; it's simply not possible. If you have a closed development shop, you may be able to keep trade secrets. But publicly known software developments? It's not possible. Software is basically applied mathematics: if the principles are know, anyone can implement them.
Of course, on /. I'm preaching to the choir...
Enjoy life! This is not a dress rehearsal.
Isn't the cat already out of the bag?
Restricting it would only mean the US will not be a player in AI.
Get out now. If you are considering development of commercial applications in the AI field*, move offshore. Or you will lose access to global markets.
*Whatever the hell that is.
Have gnu, will travel.
If you ban it, it will simply be stolen and exported to other countries anyway.
( I suspect we will be stealing it from other countries as well )
I know every country is in a race to see who can develop it first because, much like nuclear weapons, it gives the one who finishes
first a huge advantage over the rest.
The best course of action is to collaborate with other countries to help ensure AI actually turns into something useful for humanity.
By combining efforts, it may even shorten the time before we see the birth of a " true " AI.
...and have dedicated more resources to AI than the US has. We are behind.
There is a way to deal with that short of a full blown war, and that's for Congress to threaten China directly with letters of marque and reprisal. You damn well better believe there would be a redneck/gangbanger floatilla organized at lightning speed if Congress said "we'll legalize privateering if you don't stop raiding our IP."
Sure. Let's revisit the fun and profit that was the encryption wars. It was fun to have an American version of IE that was different from the international version. And who didn't enjoy surreptitious release of crypto research in Europe to get around export controls? All that profit for software developers who get to do the same job twice was super beneficial.
I develop AI on European-hosted or Canadian-hosted AWS servers using a cloud IDE, say, am I exporting AI from the US?
(Or is this whole idea ludicrous?)
Where are we going and why are we in a handbasket?
Whoever made this suggestion should not be allowed be anywhere near the position in which they can make such restrictions.
Story explaining how Clinton (Bill) sold top secret missile technology to China in return for donations to the DNC. Gore, running in 2000, at the time was questioned in a debate and basically said Janet Reno would have to prosecute them and she was told not to.
So its not likely to be stolen, but sold off by the DNC for campaign donations.
They pay for the product of chinese toil with printed money backed solely by the forced use of U.S. currency to buy oil.
1-Most Algorithms in AI are open source, so the BIS will have difficulty reining in that.
2-Fundamental research is usually exempt from export controls and difficult to control.
3-Will limit the ability of the US companies reaching other markets.
4- Will be built a wall around US Tech the will leak secrets like a strainer see 1 and 2.
5- Will give an unfair advantage to Chinese companies that will find themselves without U.S. competition but with enough competition from other countries to
push innovation forward.
6- Some Chinese companies will become very big, i am talking DJI and Huawei size companies overnight, see point 5.
7- The market determine winners not governments, neither the Chinese government or the U.S government can change that,there is plenty of evidence that U.S export controls has hurt U.S companies badly, complete sectors in which the US used to dominated has been decimated and the worst part is that they are ineffective stopping an adversary in of obtaining comparable tech.
The same goes for China, no matter how much money China put in its semiconductor industry wont change the fact the domestic demand is strong for foreign components.
If the real problem is overpopulation and AI is a big part of the solution, then the current battle makes sense in these terms. It would be politically incorrect to discuss what really will happen.
Our liberty and democracy were given up long before the slumbering dragon awakened. The Chinese have simply learned as an oligarchical capitalist cartel how to leverage money, influence, nationalism, and more questionable means to become the established monopoly across the world. Not unlike America has since its 'success' in WW2. And really one might say America post-WW2 was a welfare state supported by the rebuilding needs of the rest of the civilized world, leveraged into an unsustainable economy whose cultural rot has finally begun its downward march in both influence and financial benefits to the common man.
It'll be a ridiculous joke we are laughed at for and that offers no benefits just like the encryption export restrictions.