United States limits exports of artificial intelligence software to rival powers like China

The United States took measures on Friday to restrict exports of artificial intelligence software as part of a bid to keep sensitive technologies out of the hands of rival powers like China.

Under a new rule that goes into effect on Monday, companies that export certain types of geospatial imagery software from the US must apply for a licence to send it overseas except when it is being shipped to Canada.

“They want to keep American companies from helping the Chinese make better AI products that can help their military,” said James Lewis, a technology expert with the Centre for Strategic and International Studies think tank in Washington.

The rule was likely to be welcomed by the industry, which had feared a much broader crackdown on exports of most artificial intelligence hardware and software, he said.

The rule covered software that could be used by sensors, drones and satellites to automate the process of identifying targets for both military and civilian ends, he said.

The measure is the first to be finalised by the US commerce department under a mandate from a 2018 law, which tasked the agency with writing rules to boost oversight of exports of sensitive technology to adversaries like China, for economic and security reasons.

The rule will go into effect in the US initially, but American authorities could later submit it to international bodies to try to create a level playing field globally.

It comes amid growing frustration from US lawmakers over the slow roll-out of rules toughening up export controls, with Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, urging the commerce department to speed up the process.

“While the government believes that it is in the national security interests of the United States to immediately implement these controls, it also wants to provide the interested public with an opportunity to comment on the control of new items,” the rule release said.