A group of twenty national security experts are advising the Trump administration to restrict the sale of Nvidia's H20 AI chips to China. In a letter to the Secretary of Commerce, they argue that exporting H20 chips would compromise the United States' advantage in artificial intelligence and exacerbate existing chip shortages.
The experts state that the H20 is a potent accelerator of China's AI development, particularly for military applications, and outperforms some restricted chips in AI inference tasks. They believe that supplying these chips to China would fuel the modernisation of the Chinese military. Nvidia has defended the H20, stating that it would not enhance military capabilities and aligns with the US's AI export strategy.
The debate highlights the tension between economic interests and national security concerns, particularly regarding China's access to advanced AI technology. Critics suggest that allowing the sale of H20 chips could strengthen China's military capabilities and threaten US innovation.
