Curbs on Artificial Intelligence exports? Why Silicon Valley fears losing its edge

A common belief among tech industry insiders is that Silicon Valley has dominated the internet because much of the worldwide network was designed and built by Americans. Now a growing number of those insiders are worried that proposed export restrictions could short-circuit the pre-eminence of US companies in the next big thing to hit their industry: artificial intelligence. In November, the Commerce Department released a list of technologies, including artificial intelligence, that are under consideration for new export rules because of their importance to national security. Technology experts worry that blocking the export of AI to other countries, or tying it up in red tape, will help AI industries flourish in those nations -- China, in particular -- and compete with US companies. "The number of cases where exports can be sufficiently controlled are very, very, very small, and the chance of making an error is quite large," said Jack Clark, head of policy at OpenAI, an artificial intelligence lab in San Francisco.