China fears Nvidia chips could track, trace and shut down its AIs

Beijing has asked Nvidia to explain whether its H20 artificial intelligence chips have backdoors that could allow the United States to position and remotely shut them down. Chinese pundits said similar probes could be extended to other American-made chips. The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) stated on July 31 that it summoned US tech giant Nvidia over security risks related to its H20 AI chip, which had been sold to China.

“Nvidia’s AI chips have been alleged to pose serious security risks, and some US lawmakers have called for advanced chips exported abroad to be equipped with ‘tracking and positioning’ functions,” said the CAC.

The CAC said in a press release that American AI experts have confirmed that the “tracking and positioning” and “remote shutdown” technologies of Nvidia chips have matured. It requested that Nvidia explain and submit relevant proof materials regarding this issue.

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