Trump Admin Reportedly Weighing Chinese AI Crackdown After Beijing Closes Gap

The Trump administration appears more keen on banning advanced Chinese open-source artificial intelligence (AI) models after it was reported that China closed the gap with its newest model, Axios reported.

Moonshot AI, a Beijing-based AI company, recently released Kimi K3, which performs on par with America’s most advanced models. Kimi K3 appears to have reignited the Trump administration’s interest in banning Chinese open-source models. The administration did not ban these foreign models previously out of a concern over stifling innovation.

“The Trump Administration is committed to promoting America’s open-source ecosystem and strengthening its security,” a White House official told the Daily Caller News Foundation in a written statement.

The Commerce Department thought about adding many Chinese AI labs to its “Entity List” in which would have closed access to the models without a license, and the Department of Commerce wrote a draft rule that would use its authority to secure domestic supply chains to attack Chinese open-source models, Axios reported, citing an anonymous source, without stating why the source familiar with the administration’s thinking.

The Department of Commerce did not respond to a DCNF request for comment.

The Trump administration did not follow through with drafting guidance on Chinese lab threats and implementing an executive order that would have companies accept liability for using Chinese AI, according to Axios.

Top AI companies or allies close to the tech companies have approached the Trump administration periodically with a proposal to ban open-source models, Axios reported.

American companies use Chinese open-source models more than ever as Chinese models now work as effectively as American models. Kimi K3 also