Basri Caneri 
US-based technology giant Microsoft has called on the Trump administration to loosen export restrictions on artificial intelligence (AI) chips. The company argues that current regulations could weaken the US position in the global AI competition and give China a strategic advantage.
Is the US Falling Behind in the Artificial Intelligence Race?
In a statement published on the company’s official blog, Microsoft Vice President and President Brad Smith stated that the US is in a great race in the field of artificial intelligence and that this competition will shape the world economy.
The company argues that if the Trump administration continues the AI export restrictions inherited from the Biden era, US technology development will be hampered. According to Microsoft, the current rules make it difficult for US tech firms to set up AI data centers in countries such as Switzerland, Poland, Greece, Singapore, India, Israel, Indonesia, the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
Before leaving the White House in January, the Biden administration had introduced a regulation banning US chipmakers like Nvidia and AMD from selling advanced GPUs to China, Russia, Iran and North Korea. These rules require cloud computing giants like Microsoft, Amazon and Alphabet to obtain special licenses to set up data centers in certain countries.
Microsoft says these restrictions are a major obstacle for its global customers and could slow economic growth.
“Customers in these countries are concerned that their opportunities for economic growth will be limited if they cannot gain sufficient access to critical American AI technology.”
China’s Advantage Grows
Microsoft emphasizes that while these export bans will put the US in a difficult situation, they will make it easier for China to spread AI technology to global markets.
The company plans to invest $80 billion to develop AI infrastructure worldwide by 2024, with 50% of this investment targeted for the US. However, it notes that this growth plan depends on the free export of AI services.
Microsoft sent the following message to the Trump administration:
“Remove restrictions that prevent economic markets from working efficiently. Instead, maintain security standards and AI use restrictions that protect national security.”
While it is argued that the US will need to review existing export restrictions in order to maintain its global leadership in AI, it remains to be seen how the Trump administration will respond to this call.
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