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Microsoft has called for “clarity and consistency” on U.S. export controls that have hampered the export of cutting-edge artificial intelligence chips to the Middle East, as it announced the opening of a new AI lab with partner G42 in Abu Dhabi.
The Seattle-based company invested $1.5 billion in G42 this year, hoping to use the UAE’s largest AI company as a gateway to markets in Africa and Asia, where it sees an unmet and growing demand for AI.
But the U.S. has so far restricted exports of chips specifically for AI software to the Middle East, citing concerns that the technology could leak to China. Microsoft has yet to secure a license to ship components needed for some of its plans to G42, a company that has been investigated by U.S. lawmakers for its past ties to Chinese companies.
Brad Smith, Microsoft’s president and executive vice president, told the Financial Times: “We all need clarity and consistency from the US government around the details of its export control regime. The US government in particular has been working hard on this issue throughout the summer and I am confident that clarity is emerging.”
Smith added that export applications made by Microsoft and others are “not 100 percent complete yet, but they are getting close.”
Despite the delay, Microsoft and G42 announced on Tuesday that they are co-founding two new labs in Abu Dhabi that will focus on building AI systems for developing countries, including non-Western languages such as Arabic and Hindi.
Microsoft will provide access to computing infrastructure for its “AI for Good Lab,” which will invest millions of dollars and work with Kenyan nonprofits to develop technology products.
These labs will focus on using AI responsibly and solving so-called social problems in the global South, as part of an effort to demonstrate to companies that they are using AI conscientiously and to scale the technology beyond Western markets.
“What gives the U.S. government peace of mind from an export control perspective is that we are the home of responsible and secure AI,” said Feng Xiao, G42’s CEO.
The move comes as countries struggle to regulate the rapidly evolving technology, which has raised concerns about its potential for social harm, including the spread of misinformation and the loss of jobs.
Xiao, who was born in China, studied in the U.S., and is now a citizen of the UAE, points to OpenAI’s latest software release, which is supported by Microsoft, as an example of the opportunities and threats of AI.
While AI could help developers greatly improve their coding skills, Xiao said, “you could imagine someone who knows nothing about code starting to give verbal commands.” [instructing the person how to] “Create software that can potentially hack cell phones.”
Smith also said that addressing U.S. concerns about who gets access to graphics processing units, the hardware components needed to develop advanced AI models, is also relevant to responsible use of AI.
Oil-rich Abu Dhabi has ambitions to become a global AI hub and has sought to assuage concerns among U.S. officials about technology transfer despite its close ties to Beijing.
The UAE’s efforts to secure access to AI technology are led by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a powerful national security adviser and chairman of the G42, who oversees a vast business empire. The G42 has also been backed by the U.S. private equity group Silver Lake, as well as by Abu Dhabi-based state investor Mubadala.
Officials and businesspeople involved in discussions in Washington said that while commerce and trade officials are generally comfortable with Microsoft’s relationship with the G42, some security officials are hesitant to allow closer ties between the two groups.
To appease U.S. concerns, G42 said it was cutting ties with Chinese suppliers, including Huawei, and eliminating hardware. G42 also said in a statement that it had established a policy this year not to do business with “any entity” on the U.S. export control list. Xiao said the company had never done so before.
