Page 10 - The Indian EYE 071825

OPINION JULY 18, 2025 | The Indian Eye 10

From Diffusion to Discretion:

Contextualizing the US Pivot

in Compute Control

While the removal of AI diffusion framework may streamline the AI market and prevent international

relations to be shadowed by quota requirements for the US, the abrupt nature of rescission creates
significant uncertainty about future regulatory direction

MEGHNA PRADHAN

he US policies on AI are un-
dergoing significant shift under
Tthe Trump Administration. On
the export side, there has been a sud-
den rescission of the 2025 Framework
for Artificial Intelligence Diffusion,
announcement of new guidelines for
regulation of exports, and consider-
ation of new laws by US legislative
bodies to ensure US regulated and
exported chips can be safeguarded.
Domestically, there are talks of rene-
gotiation of the conditions, or even
cancellation, of grants given under Courtesy: IDSA
the CHIPS and Science Act 2022.
These changes have major implica-
tions for American leadership in AI hands of our adversaries’. used for cognitive electronic warfare, of advanced ICs and related com-
and allied industries. radar, signals intelligence, and jam- modities that are subject to export
On 13 May 2025, the US De- NEW POLICY ming. restrictions. It essentially identifies
partment of Commerce announced DIRECTIVES FOR AI BIS Policy Statement on Con- certain transactional and behavioral
an abrupt rescission of the 2025 trols that May Apply to Advanced ‘red flags’, such as a spike in orders,
Framework for Artificial Intelligence hile there is no clarity on Computing Integrated Circuits and unknown end-user locations, etc.,
Diffusion, mere two days before its what the AI strategy ref- Other Commodities Used to Train that may indicate illegal diversions,
compliance requirements were to Werenced by Kessler would AI Models outlines that exporting, and recommends enhanced due dil-
become effective. The Framework look like, new policy developments re-exporting, or transferring ad- igence actions to prevent the same. It
for AI Diffusion, introduced in Janu- have emerged as a potential substi- vanced computing ICs and related also mentions a license requirement
ary 2025 by the Biden-Harris admin- tute to fulfil the intent of the AI Dif- commodities for AI training will under the ‘catch-all controls’ when
istration in order to regulate global fusion Framework. Firstly, the Bu- require licensing, if there is “knowl- there is ‘knowledge’ that the ICs will
AI market and prevent US-regulated reau of Industry and Security (BIS) edge” they’ll support military-intel- be used for a WMD or military intel-
Graphics Processor Units (GPUs) has announced three ‘guidance’ with ligence or development of Weapons ligence end use/user, particularly in
falling to adversarial hands, was respect to AI export policy on 13 May of Mass Destruction (WMD) as end Country Group D:5 (including Chi-
deemed ‘ill-conceived and coun- 2025, viz. use, specifically in any of the Coun- na) or Macau.
terproductive’. Its features such as Guidance on Application of try Group D:5 (including China) or At the same time, a new bill
worldwide license requirement for General Prohibition 10 (GP10) to Macau. The licensing obligation in- has been introduced by a bipartisan
certain high-performance advanced People’s Republic of China (PRC) cludes Infrastructure-as-a-Service group of eight lawmakers in the U.S.
computing GPUs was also said to Advanced-Computing Integrated providers, in-country transfers, as House of Representatives.
have ‘undermined U.S. diplomatic Circuits (ICs) creates restrictions on well as all US persons involved in The Chip Security Act calls for
relations with dozens of countries usage of high compute ICs manufac- support activity. Non-compliance measures that may help US main-
by downgrading them to second-tier tured in China (with specific exam- to the guidance may lead to civil or tain leadership in global AI, while
status’. Jeffery Kessler, Under Secre- ple given of Huawei Ascend series), criminal proceedings, as well as in- ensuring the AI developments re-
tary of Commerce for Industry and as these chips are used by PRC for clusion in BIS ‘Entity list’. main concomitant to US interests. It
Security, stated that there would be a military modernization efforts to im- Industry Guidance to Prevent has provisions to prevent chips leak
‘bold, inclusive strategy to American prove the speed and accuracy of its Diversion of Advanced Computing into wrong hands (through measures
AI technology with trusted foreign military decision making, planning, Integrated Circuits covers guide- like GPS or other on-chip beacon
countries around the world, while and logistics, as well as of its autono- lines for industries to help them embedded in the chip). It also has
keeping the technology out of the mous military systems, such as those detect and prevent illegal diversion Continued on next page... >>

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