
One cannot deny the impact of DeepSeek, the company that went viral some days ago, thanks to its models that were supposedly trained at a fraction of the cost of its U.S. counterparts.
The huge surge in demand for DeepSeek models sent shockwaves through the U.S. stock market, causing a historic stock market loss for Nvidia, the shovel seller in the AI gold rush.
Now, here's the thing. DeepSeek is a Chinese company, and as you should know by now, the U.S. does not have the best relations with China, placing restrictions on AI chip exports and even banning TikTok for U.S. security reasons.
DeepSeek's popularity has prompted a response from the heads of top U.S. AI labs like OpenAI's Sam Altman and Dario Amodei, Anthropic's co-founder and CEO.
Governments are also keeping an eye on DeepSeek and have swiftly responded to the development, with countries like Italy banning DeepSeek over its handling of personal data and agencies like the Pentagon blocking access to the Chinese models, as well as NASA prohibiting employees from using DeepSeek tech.
Last Wednesday, Republican Senator for Missouri Josh Hawley introduced a bill that is apparently supposed to "protect America’s artificial intelligence (AI) development from China." This bill, aptly named "Decoupling America’s Artificial Intelligence Capabilities from China Act," is supposed to:
- Prohibit the import from or export to China of artificial intelligence technology;
- Prohibit American companies from conducting AI research in China or in cooperation with Chinese companies; and
- Prohibit U.S. companies from investing money in Chinese AI development.
So, if you take a look at the actual document, you'll find this block:
PROHIBITION ON IMPORTATION.— On and after the date that is 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the importation into the United States of artificial intelligence or generative artificial intelligence technology or intellectual property developed or produced in the People’s Republic of China is prohibited.
What this means is that technology like DeepSeek models, which count as generative AI produced in China, will be banned, and U.S. citizens who use Chinese models like DeepSeek V3 could be punished with up to 20 years in jail, a fine of up to $1,000,000, or both. Seriously, further down the document, you'll find the following:
CRIMINAL.—A person who willfully commits, willfully attempts to commit, or willfully conspires to commit, or aids and abets in the commission of, the violation of a prohibition under subsection (a) or (b) shall be subject to the criminal penalties set forth in subsection (b) of section 1760 of the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 (50 U.S.C. 4819) to the same extent as a person who willfully commits, willfully attempts to commit, or willfully conspires to commit, or aids and abets in the commission of an unlawful act described in subsection (a) of that section.
And 50 U.S.C. 4819 says this:
Criminal penalty
A person who willfully commits, willfully attempts to commit, or willfully conspires to commit, or aids and abets in the commission of, an unlawful act described in subsection (a)—
(1) shall be fined not more than $1,000,000; and
(2) in the case of the individual, shall be imprisoned for not more than 20 years, or both.
Casual users of Chinese AI models are not the only ones targeted. The bill is also seeking to prohibit researchers from collaborating with a Chinese university or company:
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.—A United States person may not intentionally conduct, attempt or conspire to conduct, or aid and abet in conducting research or development of artificial intelligence or generative artificial intelligence—
(1) within the People’s Republic of China...
Now the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has weighed in on the proposed legislation. Speaking to 404 Media, the foundation's director of AI and Access-to-Knowledge Legal Projects called the bill a threat to the development and publishing of AI advancements. She also added:
We're particularly worried about the impact on open and collaborative development of these technologies outside the proprietary systems of the Big Tech incumbents.
Walsh also argued that the law would "interfere with efforts at AI accountability," noting that it could hinder transparency requirements proposed by states and members of Congress.
As for what counts as an export, Walsh pointed out that the U.S. government in the past has argued that publishing information on the internet counts as an export, and under such an interpretation, academic research in the field of artificial intelligence will be stifled by proprietary AI.
Image via DepositPhotos.com
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