Megan Lowry
Every advanced AI program ― from the widely available ChatGPT to those run by the Defense Department ― depends on access to semiconductors. These computer chips are in almost every digital device today, and newer semiconductor technology is essential for the enormous computing power that AI requires.
While the U.S. first developed semiconductors and led globally in semiconductor development and manufacturing in the last century, today it produces just 12% of all semiconductors. Following passage of the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, the federal government has embarked on a sweeping effort to promote and protect U.S. leadership in the semiconductor industry to ensure economic and national security. A new National Academies report recommends actions for the U.S. Department of Defense ― coordinating with the commercial sector, universities, and other parts of government ― to secure its access to this critical technology.
We spoke with the chair of the committee that wrote the report, Liesl Folks, director of the Center for Semiconductor Manufacturing and professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Arizona, about how access to semiconductors is shaping AI and what the report’s recommendations could mean for its future.
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