Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said he met with President Donald Trump on Wednesday to discuss chip export restrictions as lawmakers consider proposals to restrict exports of advanced artificial intelligence chips to countries such as China.
“We have repeatedly said we support export controls and give American companies priority access to the best and most abundant products,” Hwang told reporters at the Capitol.
Lawmakers were considering including the National Artificial Intelligence Access and Innovation Guarantee Act into a major defense package known as the National Defense Authorization Act. The GAIN AI Act allows Nvidia and advanced micro device The move is to allow U.S. companies to choose their own AI chips before selling them in countries like China.
The proposal is not expected to become part of the NDAA, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
Mr Hwang said it was “wise” for the proposal to be excluded from the annual defense policy bill.
“The GAIN AI Act is even more harmful to the United States than the AI Adoption Act,” Huang said.
Nvidia’s CEO also criticized the idea of enacting a patchwork of state laws to regulate AI. The concept of state-by-state regulation has generated pushback from technology companies and spurred the creation of an AI industry-backed super PAC called Leading the Future.
“State-by-state AI regulation would grind this industry to a halt and raise national security concerns, as the United States needs to advance AI technology as quickly as possible,” Huang said. “Federal regulation of AI is the smartest move.”
Last month, President Trump urged lawmakers to include a provision in the NDAA that would prioritize “one federal standard” over state AI laws.
But House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-Louisiana) told CNBC’s Emily Wilkins on Tuesday that the provision would not be included in the bill, citing lack of sufficient support. Scalise added that he and other lawmakers will continue to explore ways to establish national standards for AI.
Attention: NVIDIA offers goodwill to sell chips in China
