Legislators are pressuring the Biden administration to restrict American businesses’ engagement in RISC-V, an open-source microprocessor technology, as tensions in the U.S.-China tech war rise. Although justified as a national security measure, experts caution that such steps can impede global technical growth.
RISC-V has the ability to lower the cost of all technology-related products.
RISC-V, an acronym for “Reduced Instruction Set Computing-5,” is in opposition to the exclusive chip technology produced by the British company Arm Holdings. Because it is open-source, it might dramatically lower the cost of everything from smartphones to AI processors. Legislators contend that this may be a backdoor for China to steal American intellectual property and overtake the United States in the semiconductor industry.
At first look, the control of RISC-V may appear to be a wise strategic move, particularly in light of the current technological conflict between the United States and China. Ironically, the open-source semiconductor technology could end up being a double-edged sword for the United States. While senators like as Senators Marco Rubio and Mark Warner worry that China would employ RISC-V to avoid American technical superiority, others contend that limiting this technology will prevent international cooperation on chip innovation.
Tech executive Jack Kang of the California-based firm SiFive compares the possibility of RISC-V regulation to “forbidding us from working on the internet.” The effort could backfire since the U.S. stands to gain from this open-source technology; Google aims to make Android compatible with RISC-V, and Qualcomm is working with European companies on RISC-V processors.
Furthermore, the potential limitations would be at odds with the open-source community’s philosophy, which depends on group input for quick innovation. The effects would be widespread, hurting not only China and the United States but also European efforts to develop semiconductor technologies that are more productive and affordable.