11:21 AM EDT, 05/08/2024 (MT Newswires) -- (Adds details throughout beginning with second paragraph.)

The Commerce Department is weighing a new regulatory push to restrict companies from exporting proprietary or closed-source artificial intelligence models to China, Reuters reported Wednesday, citing three people familiar with the matter.

The federal government currently has few if any restrictions on who can buy cutting-edge technology from US companies like Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) with its Google Deepmind AI model or the Microsoft ( MSFT ) -backed OpenAI.

The exclusionary efforts are intended to slow China's development of AI technology for military purposes, the sources told Reuters. Officials in the US government and the private sector also are increasingly worried adversaries could use the software or the vast amounts of data used to train AI programs to executive cyberattacks or other kinds of strikes on US interests.

The department hasn't finalized new export restrictions, the sources said. The agency recently tried to block the sale of high-end computer chips used in AI applications to China but is still weighing how to best monitor sales of closed-source AI models, and set limits, if needed, while also keeping pace with the rapidly developing technology, they said.

The Commerce Department did not immediately respond to a request by MT Newswires seeking comment and additional information on Wednesday.

(Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)

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