FirstFT: US should restrict Nvidia’s AI chips to ethical uses, says DeepMind co-founder

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The US should use its leadership in semiconductors as a “chokepoint” to enforce minimum global standards for the use of artificial intelligence, according to the head of one of the country’s most ambitious AI start-ups.

Mustafa Suleyman, chief executive of Inflection and a co-founder of DeepMind, told the Financial Times in an interview that Washington should restrict sales of the Nvidia chips that play a dominant role in training advanced AI systems to buyers who agree to safe and ethical uses of the technology.

At a minimum, he added, that should mean agreeing to abide by the same undertakings that some of the leading US AI companies made to the White House in July, such as allowing external tests before releasing a new AI system.

“The US should mandate that any consumer of Nvidia chips signs up to at least the voluntary commitments — and more likely, more than that,” Suleyman said. “That would be an incredibly practical chokepoint that would allow the US to impose itself on all other actors [in AI].” Here’s more from the exclusive interview.

Here’s what else I’m keeping tabs on today:

• Economic data: S&P Global publishes its manufacturing purchasing managers’ indices for the EU, France, Germany, Italy, UK and US.

• Companies: Scandinavian flag carrier SAS reports third-quarter results. In the UK, Gerry Murphy becomes non-executive chair of supermarket chain Tesco, replacing John Allan, who resigned in June after he was linked to the CBI scandal. Dirk Hahn succeeds Alistair Cox as chief executive of recruiter Hays.

• UK: The sale of fluorescent lightbulbs for household use is banned from today, while large parts of the country will face disruption from train strikes.

How well did you keep up with the news this week? Take our quiz.

Five more top stories

1. Adani shares slid and opposition politicians demanded action after reports by the FT and the Guardian exposed details of opaque offshore structures that shielded family-linked shareholders at the Indian tycoon’s empire. The value of Adani’s listed companies dropped by $4.2bn, or 3.3 per cent, yesterday. Here’s how the Adani Group has responded.

2. UK interest rates may not rise further, the Bank of England’s chief economist has signalled. At an event by South Africa’s central bank, Huw Pill pushed back against market expectations and indicated that he would vote to keep rates at 5.25 per cent for a longer period. Read more about his remarks yesterday.

• Opinion: The BoE is wrong to fear wage rises and should be cautious about further restrictions, writes Gerald Holtham, visiting professor at Cardiff Metropolitan University.

3. Britain’s safety watchdog has proposed not classifying lithium chemicals as “toxic” in a potential divergence from EU regulation on lithium carbonate, chloride and hydroxide, compounds which are key to making electric vehicle batteries. Here’s how industry executives have responded to the move.

• UK utilities: British households and businesses will be paid to cut their power consumption during peak hours this winter for the second year running to help reduce the strain on the network and reduce the risk of blackouts.

4. Aurubis, Europe’s largest copper producer, said it had fallen victim to theft that could lead to hundreds of millions of euros of losses and cause it to fall short of its full-year financial target. The German company said it identified serious discrepancies tied to its recycling business in Hamburg and has since involved the authorities. Here’s more on the metals industry’s latest scandal.

5. Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov has said he is ready to die for Vladimir Putin, calling himself a “foot soldier” for Russia’s president in a social media post just a day after Yevgeny Prigozhin’s funeral. Kadyrov has distanced himself from the late Wagner warlord since the latter’s mutiny against Moscow in June, as hardliners seek to dispel doubts about their allegiance.

The Big Read

Can global warming be solved by reflecting the sun’s rays back into space? The niche idea of solar radiation management is becoming increasingly seriously studied, with proponents arguing that drastic measures are needed to combat further rises in global temperatures given humanity’s lack of progress in curbing carbon emissions. But is it a quick fix to our climate problems, or a risky distraction?

We’re also reading . . . 

• Deal of the century: UBS drew scepticism when it took over scandal-ridden rival Credit Suisse. Five months on, the deal has made it Europe’s second-most valuable lender.

• Rising Tory star: Claire Coutinho’s ascension to the UK cabinet highlights a meteoric political rise that some speculate could lead to the 38-year-old becoming party leader.

• War on cocaine: The Belgian port city of Antwerp is struggling to deal with drug shipments and the accompanying rise of deadly gang violence.

Chart of the day

A flurry of high-profile US initial public offerings this year have involved cornerstone investors — typically big-name backers that agree to being identified in a company’s prospectus in return for getting a guaranteed allocation of shares. Bankers predict a growing role for them as the difficulty of pulling off deals rises in a sluggish market.

Take a break from the news

Here are our six films to watch this week, including Passages, Ira Sachs’s complex love story that hosts a trio of superb performances.

Additional contributions from Benjamin Wilhelm and Gordon Smith