Sen. Coons: Trump Approving Exports of AI Chips to China ‘Is a Very Bad Decision for Our National Security’

EXCERPT:

COONS: "Well, I think Nvidia and David Sachs have been lobbying hard for the opportunity to sell more chips. And look, I understand that over decades, American companies have over and over been attracted by the draw of the Chinese market, the opportunity to sell more goods and products, only to discover a few years later that the Chinese have copied their leading technology and shut them down and begin to manufacture it there. This is a story I‘ve seen directly and in person, back when I was in industry working for a global manufacturer before I ever ran for office. It is a well-known history. The only thing holding China back from winning the race for A.I. is cutting-edge chips. They have a great workforce of cutting edge engineers. They are able to deliver a huge dataset to train A.I. with more than a billion people. They are delivering baseload energy faster than we are. So, across the whole stack, we have a critical competitive advantage in chips, chip design and chip manufacturing that China can‘t catch us on unless we give it away. This is a moment of profound weakness that will be remembered for a long time. It is a very bad decision for our national security."