2025-08-23
51 分钟The Economist.
The Federal Register from February 3rd, 1997, included something new.
In practically incomprehensible jargon,
it said that companies would need a special license to export computers of a certain capacity to Ben Gurian University.
The Commerce Department was introducing its entity list, or as it's sometimes referred to, the blacklist.
The entity list is how the US government constrains trade in sensitive technologies.
And its original goal was to prevent the spread of weapons of mass destruction.
Today, there are over a thousand people and organizations on it.
Among them is an extensive list of Chinese AI companies.
And as that technology proliferates, President Donald Trump is picking the winners and losers.
I'm John Prideaux, and this is Checks and Balance from The Economist.
Each week we take one big theme shaping American politics and explore it in depth.
Today, what is the administration's chips policy?
Earlier this year, Trump banned the export of some Nvidia chips to China.
But after meeting with the company's CEO, he reversed himself.
And the US government is slated to grab some of the company's profits.
So is national security now for sale?
Will the White House give away America's AI edge?
And if so, for what?
With me this week to talk about the Trump administration's chips policy and national security and AI are Charlotte Howart,