6 ms·
One way that companies get around ITAR and similar regulations for things like space grade components that have radiation tolerant features is to only rad test
by wildzzz 4y ago
One way that companies get around ITAR and similar regulations for things like space grade components that have radiation tolerant features is to only rad test up to what the limits are. The components are probably much more resilient than what they are specced for but by only declaring the legal limit, companies can still export their products. The foreign buyers can do their own testing to prove the components can meet their required levels. I've done this before for a commercial chip that was rumored to be radiation tolerant despite nothing from the vendor saying so and found that it well exceeded my expectations.
I wonder if Nvidia can use a similar loophole where the chips are clocked at lower rates for export to meet the law but can be "overclocked" with hardware modifications.
- bredren 4y agoChinese brand 8fun (bafang) ebike motors have been sold this way for a long time. AFAIK, the spec for their mid drive motors has been well below output potential.
- zerohp 4y ago> Under the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 (50 U.S.C. §§ 4801-4852) (ECRA), criminal penalties can include up to 20 years of imprisonment and up to $1 million in fines per violation, or both. I work in CPU design and I wouldn't risk it.
- sigmoid10 4y agoI'll eat a hat if any major league manager in the US who could decide this ever goes to prison. To be clear, I'd celebrate it, but the mortgage crisis showed that laws and punishment hardly work on top level execs.
- zerohp 4y agoExactly. It would get pinned on some poor engineer just like the Volkswagen diesel stuff. That’s why an individual contributor should not take part in it. It’s better to get a different job.
- slavik81 4y agoOliver Schmidt had an engineering degree, but he was a Volkswagen AG executive and was the manager of the Volkswagen emissions office in Michigan.
- voxadam 4y agoApril 28, 2022 - Businessman Sentenced to One Year Imprisonment for ITAR Brokering Violations[0] This is just the first of many ITAR violation stories that I found when doing a quick search. ITAR violations are regularly enforced. [0] https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/businessman-sentenced-to-one-year-5805161/ https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/businessman-sentenced-to-o...
- sigmoid10 4y agoNotice that it was just the broker who got sentenced here. He facilitated the trade, but he's certainly not the guy who made the decisions. Same as with the Diesel scandal: VW blamed it all on some middle-management engineer who was supposedly "acting alone." Poor schmuck got seven years in the US and when he was released he got deported to Germany and locked up for another year. I'll even double down right now and say that despite the investigation going against the former VW CEO, he'll never spend a day in prison. The same would hold with NVIDIA or any other major corp.
- ajdegol 4y agoITAR is a bit different.
- rkangel 4y agoITAR (i.e. National Security) is legally taken much more seriously than financial stuff.
- packetlost 4y agoYou do. not. FUCK. with. ITAR. The penalties are very steep. When you get caught, intentional violations can have jail time attached for the responsible parties (ie. intentional data breaches would fall on the CISO or closest equivalent). If there is one thing the US government takes very seriously, it's military and defense. They have, and will, fine a company that doesn't get it's shit together into the ground.
- BowBun 4y agoAccording to the linked reply, you owe us eating your hat. We'll wait for video, thanks.
- foxyv 4y agohttps://www.instructables.com/edible-party-hat/ https://www.instructables.com/edible-party-hat/
- RF_Savage 4y agoReminds me of how in the eighties and nineties many MMIC's topped out at 8GHz, on the datasheet. As 9GHz X-band capable stuff was more restricted dual use stuff. Yet ERA-2SM for example had more gain on 10GHz than the 8GHz where the official spec ended at. :)
- zimpenfish 4y ago> where the chips are clocked at lower rates for export You'd probably have a hard time claiming that was "peak performance" for the chip if it's underclocked with "nudge-nudge-wink-wink" overclocking available.
- taneq 4y agoSounds like the 80s/90s 208hp “gentleman’s agreement” in Japan. Most of those cars put out 320+hp with trivial bolt-on mods but they were all “208hp nudge nudge wink wink”
- WithinReason 4y agoThis could work for GPUs: Instead of selling a 20 TFLOP card for $500 you could sell 2 for $250 each consuming half the power. Wonder how long you could keep this up with exponential scaling though...
- Abishek_Muthian 4y agoChina would just import the GPUs from black market of countries not facing embargo, Even specific military spec components facing tight scrutiny end up there and other countries facing embargo[1], When Nvidia comes to learn about it they'll just keep quiet until it leaks out. Not to mention, H100 is itself made in China and it seems Nvidia is allowed to keep building it there[2]. [1] https://www.reuters.com/technology/chip-challenge-keeping-western-semiconductors-out-russian-weapons-2022-04-01/ https://www.reuters.com/technology/chip-challenge-keeping-we... [2] https://www.cnbc.com/2022/09/01/nvidia-says-us-government-allows-ai-chip-development-in-china.html https://www.cnbc.com/2022/09/01/nvidia-says-us-government-al...