U.S. chipmakers want federal help, researchers propose a better test for AI language models, and the Deputy SecDef talks AI

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Worth Knowing

U.S. Chip Companies Call for Federal Funding for Domestic Chipmaking: On February 11, executives from some of the biggest U.S. chip companies — including Intel, IBM, Micron Technology, NVIDIA, Qualcomm and Advanced Micro Devices — urged President Biden to include support for domestic semiconductor manufacturing in his future recovery and infrastructure plans. Many U.S. companies design their chips domestically but outsource manufacturing to foundries abroad. Some observers argue this model has made the world’s economy perilously dependent on a small number of semiconductor manufacturers in Taiwan and South Korea. President Biden is reportedly planning to issue an executive order to address a recent semiconductor shortage that has hobbled a number of sectors, most notably the auto industry. The recent National Defense Authorization Act included provisions from the CHIPS for America Act authorizing federal incentives for domestic semiconductor manufacturing facilities, but funding must still be appropriated.
Chinese Tech Giant Baidu Looks to Form AI Chip Company: Baidu, one of China’s largest technology companies, is reportedly engaged in fundraising talks to form a standalone AI chip company. In recent years, the search engine giant — sometimes called China’s Google — has followed its Silicon Valley rival in branching out beyond search, investing heavily in artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies. In 2018, it introduced its “Kunlun” AI chip, manufactured by Samsung and incorporating Baidu’s own “Ernie” natural language processing system. The news of Baidu’s plans to spin off its AI chip business was well received by the markets, boosting the company’s stock. While some observers tied Baidu’s actions to China’s stated goal of achieving self-reliance in semiconductors by 2025, it is unclear whether Baidu intends to build the chips itself, outsource their production within China, or — as with the Kunlun chip — rely on foreign foundries.
Researchers Propose “Living Benchmark” for Language Models: A group of AI researchers proposed a new evaluation system for natural language generation (NLG) models that could help avoid the problems that have plagued previous systems. In a paper describing their new project, 55 researchers describe how their “GEM” (Generation, Evaluation, and Metrics) benchmark combines an evolving set of automated tasks with human evaluation to form a “living benchmark” that changes over time. NLG models — such as OpenAI’s GPT-3 or Microsoft’s recently announced Turing NLG — train on vast datasets to learn to write stories, summarize text, and even write code. But comparing these models and judging their effectiveness has proven difficult. Observers note that many of the current automated benchmarks incentivize “leaderboard-chasing” — building NLG models that are well-suited to the benchmark but ill-suited to actual language generation — or bake in harmful stereotypes by relying on large, unfiltered datasets from online sources. By continuously updating GEM and documenting the data used in its 13 automated tasks, the researchers hope to avoid these pitfalls and allow for more meaningful comparisons between NLG models.
Government Updates

Deputy Secretary of Defense Discusses AI During Nomination Hearing: During her confirmation hearing before the Senate, Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks named AI and autonomy as two of the Pentagon’s modernization priorities. In her written response to questions from the Senate Armed Services Committee, Hicks said the Department of Defense’s Joint Artificial Intelligence Center would be her “primary tool for guiding and accelerating the integration of artificial intelligence into the Department’s missions and activities.” As the second-highest-ranking official in the DOD, Hicks will oversee much of the department’s AI development and adoption; the most recent NDAA modified the JAIC’s reporting structure so that it now reports directly to the deputy secretary. In her written statement, Hicks committed to regular meetings with the JAIC leadership and proposed creating metrics to track the department’s AI adoption. On February 8, the Senate confirmed Deputy Secretary Hicks by voice vote.  

House Forms New Defense Tech Subcommittee: Earlier this month, the House Armed Services Committee announced the formation of a new subcommittee for the 117th Congress. The Subcommittee on Cyber, Innovative Technologies, and Information Systems (CITI) will focus on the Pentagon’s emerging technology adoption and IT capabilities. The new subcommittee was formed out of the old Intelligence and Emerging Threats Capabilities subcommittee. As FedScoop noted, a number of its members served on the task force behind a HASC report on the future of warfare and the role of AI and other emerging technologies. Reps. Langevin and Stefanik, now chair and ranking member of CITI, respectively, also introduced the National Security Innovation Pathway Act last year, which aimed to provide a path to permanent residency for immigrants with national-security-relevant technological expertise.

Biden Speaks to Xi Jinping: Last week, President Biden spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping for the first time as president, touching on several topics related to AI. A White House statement said Biden brought up China’s “unfair economic practices” and aggression towards Taiwan — a major manufacturer of U.S.-designed semiconductors — but neither the White House statement nor Beijing’s readout mentioned tariffs or trade policy. White House officials discussed details of the call and the Biden administration’s China strategy with reporters, saying the United States would, for the time being, maintain the tariffs instituted under President Trump — which have had a major impact on tech firms in both countries — and potentially use them as leverage in future negotiations with Beijing.

In Translation
CSET’s translations of significant foreign language documents on AI

PRC Intellectual Property Notice: Notice of the Office of the State Council Inter-Ministerial Joint Conference on Implementation Work for the Intellectual Property Strategy on the Publication of the “2020 Promotion Plan for In-Depth Implementation of the National Intellectual Property Strategy and for Accelerating the Construction of China into an Intellectual Property Powerhouse.” This document lists 100 different intellectual property-related projects that various PRC ministries and Party departments worked on during 2020. Notably, in the name of improving patent “quality” at the expense of quantity, a few of the projects eliminate some incentives for companies and universities to file patents.

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What We’re Reading

Article: Biden’s ambitious plan to push back against techno-autocracies, David Ignatius, The Washington Post (February 2021)  

Article: America’s Eroding Technological Advantage, Christopher Darby and Sarah Sewall, Foreign Affairs (February 2021)  

Article: China Blocked Jack Ma’s Ant IPO After Investigation Revealed Likely Beneficiaries, Lingling Wei, The Wall Street Journal (February 2021)

Article: Semiconductors and the U.S.-China Innovation Race, Foreign Policy (February 2021)

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