AI Update: The White House Orders AI Dominance

Welcome to the newest edition of ID Tech’s AI update. Here’s the latest big news on the shifting landscape of AI and identity technology:

The outgoing Biden administration has issued an executive order aimed at further securing U.S. dominance in AI. It establishes a tiered approach to AI chip exports, with close allies getting unrestricted access, 120 other countries getting limited access, and perceived adversaries – like China, Iran, Russia, and North Korea – being completely blocked.

The executive order also sought to fuel domestic AI development through a regime of federal site leasing for AI data centers and clean energy facilities to support them, as well as expedited permitting. The rules lay out certain clean energy and cost management requirements, and reserve some land for small and medium-sized businesses.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co CEO C.C. Wei said that TSMC’s US-based factory will probably get the latest AI chip technology after its counterparts in Taiwan, thanks to complex regulatory issues and permitting requirements. “Every step requires a permit, and after the permit is approved, it takes at least twice as long as in Taiwan,” Wei said.

J.P.Morgan analysts think spending on data centers could contribute 10-20 basis points of GDP growth over the next couple of years, thanks to demand for construction and power generation, the need for new energy infrastructure, and investment in technology equipment. They think it already contributed 0.1-0.3 percent to GDP growth last year.

London-based Synthesia reached a $2.1 billion valuation after a $180 million Series D funding round led by NEA, a VC firm. The AI startup specializes in creating lifelike AI-generated avatars for use in corporate videos. Synthesia says it already has over 60,000 business customers.

A vulnerable woman was conned out of about $1.2 million in an online romance scam in which her suitor claimed to be Brad Pitt. Among other tricks, the scammer used AI-generated photos of the famous actor in a hospital bed to convince the victim that he needed her help to pay for kidney cancer treatment.

There is chatter among AI insiders that OpenAI is quickly approaching not merely ‘Artificial General Intelligence’ but ‘Artificial Super-Intelligence’. Gwern Branwen, a respected writer and researcher, believes the secret sauce may be “recursively self-improving” AI training. Another data scientist who claims to have got a sneak peek expressed a sense of astonishment and confoundment.

The chatbot’s take: We asked for a little explainer about the road to ASI.

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January 17, 2025 – by Alex Perala