For decades, leadership in the computing and software ecosystem has been a cornerstone of America’s strength and global influence. The federal government has wisely refrained from dictating the design, marketing, and sale of mainstream computers and software, which are key drivers of innovation and economic growth.
The first Trump administration laid the foundation for America’s current strength and success in AI, fostering an environment in which American industry could compete and excel without compromising national security. As a result, mainstream AI has become an essential part of every new application, driving economic growth, advancing U.S. interests, and ensuring U.S. leadership in cutting-edge technology.
Today, businesses, startups, and universities around the world are leveraging mainstream AI to advance healthcare, agriculture, manufacturing, education, and countless other sectors, drive economic growth, and unlock national potential. . The adoption of AI around the world, built on American technology, will drive growth and opportunity for industry at home and abroad.
That global progress is now at risk. The Biden administration is now seeking to restrict access to mainstream computing applications with unprecedented and erroneous “AI proliferation” rules that threaten to stifle innovation and economic growth around the world.
The Biden administration, in its final days in office, has sought to undermine American leadership with more than 200 pages of muddy regulatory documents drafted in secret and without proper legislative review. This widespread overreach would impose bureaucratic controls on how major U.S. semiconductors, computers, systems, and even software are designed and sold globally. And the Biden administration’s new rules seek to squander America’s hard-won technological advantages by rigging market outcomes and stifling the competition that is the lifeblood of innovation.
Although disguised as “anti-China” measures, these rules do nothing to strengthen U.S. security. The new rules will govern technology around the world, including technology already widely used in mainstream gaming PCs and consumer hardware. Far from reducing the threat, Biden’s new rules will only weaken America’s global competitiveness and undermine the innovation that has kept America ahead.
Although the rule is not enforceable for 120 days, it is already hurting U.S. interests. As the first Trump administration demonstrated, America wins by sharing innovation, competition, and technology with the world, not by retreating behind walls of government tyranny. We look forward to a return to policies that strengthen American leadership, strengthen our economy, and maintain our competitiveness in AI and other areas.
Ned Finkle is NVIDIA’s vice president of government affairs.
