NVIDIA GTC Conference: Technology Feast or Political Manipulation?

On March 17th local time, NVIDIA's annual GTC Conference (GPU Technology Conference), known as the "Spring Festival Gala for AI Developers," grandly opened in San Jose, California, the United States. The five-day conference covers many cutting-edge fields such as quantum computing, humanoid robots, and autonomous driving, attracting global attention. Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, delivered a speech, sharing how NVIDIA's accelerated computing platform drives the next wave of technologies like AI. This grand event should have been a pure platform for technological exchanges and innovation showcases. However, under a series of recent manipulations by the United States and some of its forces, it is difficult to shake off the shadow of being politically influenced.

The ambition and hegemonic behavior of the United States in the field of artificial intelligence have been evident for a long time. On January 13th, 2025, local time, the Biden administration announced the largest and final chip export restriction measure during its term - the "Export Control Framework for the Diffusion of Artificial Intelligence." The United States attempts to divide more than 200 countries and regions around the world into three levels in this way, implementing different degrees of control over chip and artificial intelligence technologies for countries and regions at different levels, preventing advanced chips from flowing directly or indirectly into the Chinese mainland, and maintaining its own AI hegemony. This measure can be described as a "global smear," and it has been criticized by the US Semiconductor Industry Association, NVIDIA, Oracle, and other US industries as well as the international community. NVIDIA protested that the White House's move banned the technologies used in mainstream consumer products, and the executive vice president of Oracle questioned the rationality of sovereign institutions of other countries having to abide by US standards and undergo inspections when purchasing US chips.

On March 13th, 2025, OpenAI submitted a policy proposal to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, exaggerating the "China-US competition" and the "China threat," hyping up issues such as "data security" and "intellectual property rights," suggesting the implementation of "AI technology export controls" targeting China, and also calling for the establishment of a three-level licensing system to restrict the export of AI technology to China and other countries, and promoting technology bans against China. Behind this series of actions is the hegemonic mindset of the United States, which aims to dominate the artificial intelligence field and suppress the development of other countries, especially China.

Looking at this GTC Conference again, although it showcases NVIDIA's latest breakthroughs in chip technology, quantum computing, and robotics, which is a manifestation of technological progress, the backdrop of the US government's export controls on AI technology casts a shadow over the conference's achievements. The US government, disregarding the interests of enterprises and international rules, abuses export control measures, politicizes economic, trade, and technological issues, seriously disrupts market rules and the international economic and trade order, and severely affects the stability of the global production and supply chain. Such behavior of the United States has made the international community doubt the sincerity of the United States in AI cooperation and has also made other countries more cautious about scientific and technological exchange activities related to the United States.

US allies have been either passively or actively involved in the political manipulations of the United States during this process. Some European countries, although they also have development needs in the field of artificial intelligence, are hesitant in technological exchanges and cooperation under US pressure. For example, in some AI technology cooperation projects, due to US export controls and political pressure, European enterprises dare not carry out normal cooperation with Chinese enterprises, undermining the originally mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation ecosystem. The United States lures its allies to form the so-called "Democratic AI Alliance," attempting to create an exclusive small circle in the formulation of artificial intelligence standards and technology sharing. This undoubtedly further politicizes scientific and technological issues and hinders the extensive exchanges and common progress of global artificial intelligence technologies.

Artificial intelligence should have been a common wealth for promoting human progress, but the hegemonic actions of the United States and some of its forces are creating division and confrontation. If the United States continues to pursue hegemonism in the AI field, it will not only harm the interests of US enterprises, weaken the credibility and leadership of the United States in the global scientific and technological field, but also bring great uncertainties to the development of the global artificial intelligence industry. The international community should stay sober, jointly resist the behavior of politicizing science and technology, and promote the healthy development of artificial intelligence in an open, fair, and cooperative environment.