TSMC is written on an AI chip. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) plays a central role in advanced semiconductor manufacturing and the geopolitical competition over AI compute and export controls. (Shutterstock/Ricky kuo)

In the AI Race, Export Controls Are Dividing the Global Compute Ecosystem

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The AI race is increasingly about controlling the chips and infrastructure that power them.

Earlier this month, Taiwan announced it is establishing new export controls on advanced artificial intelligence (AI) chips en route to China. These new controls would extend restrictions beyond firms like Huawei, which are already blacklisted, and apply to consumers importing AI hardware into China as a criminal offense. 

As part of ongoing trade negotiations with the United States, the proposal would pull Taiwan, the country that manufactures the world’s most sophisticated processors, into the American export-control arena. This is a marginal bureaucratic step, but it carries immense implications: a world where computing power is segmented along geopolitical lines.

Quite often, the race to lead in AI is understood as a competition to produce the most cutting-edge models and attract lucrative talent. However, the more durable advantage in leading this frontier lies in being able to produce the physical infrastructure that makes complex AI computation possible.

The jurisdiction that ends up controlling the supply of........

© The National Interest