WASHINGTON – The White House has approved a secret US$9 billion request to acquire the cutting-edge computer chips that America’s spy agencies need to tap into the full capabilities of the latest artificial intelligence models, according to current and former US officials.
New AI models use enormous amounts of computer power, more than many technology experts anticipated even a year or two ago. That has fuelled concerns in the White House and in Congress that a chip shortage is causing intelligence agencies to fall behind in testing and deploying the tools for top-secret espionage work, the officials said.
The additional funding reflects how integral AI platforms have become to national security. The technology has helped the military and spy agencies sift through massive amounts of intelligence and is particularly valuable for tasks like finding overlooked communications intercepts.
The US$9 billion request is intended in part to boost the availability of infrastructure that can support Nvidia’s Grace Blackwell superchip, which requires data centres that can supply enormous amounts of electrical energy and specialised liquid cooling systems.
Congress still must approve that funding, but the administration is also reprogramming US$800 million for a more rapid acquisition of computing capacity.
Even larger sums will likely be needed in the future, according to experts.
To work around the chips shortage, Ms Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff, has authorised the National Security Agency to continue to use an advanced model made by Anthropic, even though the Pentagon has designated the company a supply chain threat, US officials said.
US officials said Anthropic and the government are finalising a classified contract that would allow the NSA to maintain access to Anthropic products. The company’s new model, known as Mythos, runs more efficiently on the new chips but can also run on a previous generation of chips.
Earlier this year, the US Defense Department demanded the authority to employ Anthropic’s technology for “any lawful use,” setting off a fight between the two sides. The new contract does not include that language.
The contract will include a carve out to ensure that the AI model is not used on Americans’ data, said the officials, who added that the White House wants the contract to serve as a model for other companies. NYTIMES
