Senate Republican Senator Josh Hawley has introduced legislation to block the import and export of the national security risk posed by artificial intelligence technology between the United States and China. People in the US could face hefty fines or even jail time if they use the Chinese AI app DeepSeek.
The bill, named the ‘Decoupling America’s Artificial Intelligence Capabilities from China Act’, does not explicitly reference the Chinese AI firm DeepSeek but seeks to safeguard US intellectual property and restrict foreign competitors from accessing potentially sensitive technology.
A few days ago, the Chinese chatbot became the most popular AI app in America, which led to a crash in US tech stocks.
The bill prohibits Americans from trading AI technology with China
In the event the bill is signed into law, Americans will be barred from importing or exporting AI tech to and from China. It would also stop US companies from conducting AI research in China or teaming up with Chinese companies for AI.
It would also prevent US companies from investing in the development of AI in China. The punishment for an individual would be imprisonment for up to 20 years and a fine of up to $1 million, while for businesses, the fine could be as high as $100 million. In addition, violators would be required to cease to hold any “license, contract, subcontract, grant or public benefit awarded by any Federal agency.”
In a news release, Hawley said that every dollar and gig of data that goes into Chinese AI will be used against the US. He added:
America cannot afford to empower our greatest adversary at the expense of our own strength. Ensuring American economic superiority means cutting China off from American ingenuity and halting the subsidization of CCP innovation.
– Josh Hawley
DeepSeek’s rise sparks global privacy concerns and regulatory actions
The rise of DeepSeek AI has ignited global data privacy concerns. Italy banned the AI chatbot after deeming its data protection measures “insufficient.” Other regulators have followed Italy’s lead, demanding DeepSeek developers submit their data practices.
According to its privacy policy, DeepSeek is a shared cloud service hosted and stored in China. Bill Conner, chief executive of automation firm Jitterbit and former security advisor to the US government, says this could potentially introduce unknown risks to data privacy, compliance mandates, and security controls.
While the bill claims to protect US interests, not everyone agrees with its approach. Ben Brooks, a fellow at Harvard’s AI Research, said the bill would “kill open-source.”
Brooks, who also served as the head of public policy for Stability AI, continued to describe the bill as the “most aggressive legislative action on AI.” He added that the bill would set back US research and decouple the rest of the world from the US.
The creator of the AI chatbot Truth Terminal, Andy Ayrey, shared similar concerns. He pointed out that the bill would ‘slow Western progress in AI’ than it would hurt competitors. He proposed that a better way forward would be to release open-source model weights and datasets with cooperative and democratic values infused in them so they can organically shape international AI development.
Several states have also indicated they are considering a DeepSeek ban, with Texas becoming the first to enforce restrictions on government devices. Texas Governor Greg Abbott said the state will not allow the Chinese Communist Party to infiltrate its critical infrastructure through data-harvesting AI and social media apps.
Cryptopolitan Academy: Are You Making These Web3 Resume Mistakes? – Find Out Here
Source: https://www.cryptopolitan.com/us-senator-introduce-bill-targeting-deepseek/