this post was submitted on 23 May 2025
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[–] perestroika@lemm.ee 11 points 7 hours ago* (last edited 7 hours ago)

The first and central provision of the bill is the requirement for tracking technology to be embedded in any high-end processor module or device that falls under the U.S. export restrictions.

As a coder with some hardware awareness, I find the concept laughable.

How does he think they (read: the Taiwanese, if they are willing to) would go about doing it?

Add a GPS receiver onto every GPU? Add an inertial navigation module to every GPU? Add a radio to every GPU? :D

The poor politician needs a technically competent advisor forced on him. To make him aware (preferably in the most blunt way) of real possibilities in the real world.

In the real world, you can prevent a chip from knowing where it's running and you can't add random shit onto a chip, and if someone does, you can stop buying bugged hardware or prevent that random addition from getting a reading.

[–] MrScottyTay@sh.itjust.works 11 points 13 hours ago* (last edited 13 hours ago) (2 children)

Why do gpus need geo tracking? They're usually pretty stationary right?

[–] lorty@lemmy.ml 6 points 7 hours ago

It's about not letting them be used in China, and any other future enemy countries.

[–] Mic_Check_One_Two@reddthat.com 5 points 7 hours ago* (last edited 7 hours ago)

Because China supposedly used Nvidia cards to train DeepSeek, which blew all of the US AI out of the water. And apparently that raised some eyebrows, because Nvidia wasn’t supposed to be selling to China (free market, right?). Since China was eating big tech’s lunch, they cried to republicans (and gave them a bunch of reelection money) and now we have this bill. The point is to be able to remotely disable cards if they’re outside of their sale region.

[–] Rekorse@sh.itjust.works 9 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

Senator Tom Cotton's legislation seeks to "prevent advanced ~~American~~ TAIWANESE chips from falling into the hands of adversaries like Communist China."

FTFY

[–] MeaanBeaan@lemmy.world 2 points 6 hours ago

Nvidia, Intel, and AMD are all American companies. Yes, their GPUs are manufactured by TSMC in Taiwan but they just follow the designs given to them. The layout of these GPUs and the architecture of the chips are all designed and controlled by these American corporations.

[–] SomeRandomNoob@discuss.tchncs.de 7 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

And how do they plan to do this? even if they add (GPS) tracking hardware the Chinese will just cut the connection to the Antenna and the GPU is gone. If they do it in software (like driver) it will just be patched out.

[–] Rekorse@sh.itjust.works 7 points 13 hours ago

Sure, but now a new company selling Geo tracking shit for GPUs is making billions per year. Problem solved!

[–] andybytes@programming.dev 11 points 18 hours ago* (last edited 18 hours ago) (1 children)

Capitalism is a system of whores. And there's nothing wrong with whores, but a whore is a whore. Good luck. It's going to be like trying to hold a bar of soap that's slipping out of your hands. You can keep grabbing at it, but it's just going to keep slipping. I just recall when America leaked nuclear secrets because soldiers were using a private private flashcard program and they forgot to check mark the box that said private. And so they ended up leaking all these secrets all over the internet. And let's not forget. The open source information that was used from some snot-nosed person on an osint account on twitter for targeting a supposed underground base, that cost the lives of innocent civilians via the Palantir and Peter Thiel's stupid AI. They did not get an underground base. They just wasted millions of dollars on something that wasn't there.

It's like their plans are dystopic and terrifying, but they're not going to be able to implement them in a way that's worth a damn. And also, their actual product that they produce is so stupid that it's even more terrifying than the original idea. It's just straight up fucking madness. It's like, look mom, no hands. Then you fall off the goddamn bike and you're sitting there crying.

This still remains. There is so much corruption and greed in this country that we can't even function as an empire. We can't even get a chip's factory figured out. We don't make shit. Everybody in this country is so goddamn lazy and stupid. I can't even find a noble cause because I feel like I'm just enabling stupid people. I'm sure we just operate off of bare necessities. Like the need to just stay alive one more day. But it gets to the point where it's like, what's the fucking point? This country is nonsensical. It's absurd. It's laughable. It's weak. It's limp dicked. And this happened way before Joe Biden or Trump. This has been a continuation ever since I've been alive for 40 fucking dumb ass years.

[–] Valmond@lemmy.world 8 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

What the fuck is your metaphor with whores all about??

[–] Regrettable_incident@lemmy.world 6 points 13 hours ago (2 children)

Yeah right, a couple of my good friends used to be sex workers so

but a whore is a whore

just seems ignorant and misogynist to me.

[–] Machinist@lemmy.world 1 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

A sex worker can be a honest whore. Nothing wrong with being a honest whore.

Now being a sales weasel and making backroom deals, that's a lying whore.

[–] Valmond@lemmy.world 1 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

Your comment feels like "a honest black person can be a good nigga, no wrong with that, but if hes not nice he's a ***** nigga" IDK you just sound bad as hell.

[–] Machinist@lemmy.world 1 points 7 hours ago

It's probably the word 'whore'. Similar to 'cunt', it hits a little different from 'prostitute' or 'pussy'.

Culturally, 'whore' is an acceptable word for me to use. Any permutation of the N word is not.

I've spent a fair amount of time among drag queens(not necessarily sex workers but there is overlap), strippers, prostitutes and crack whores. Most of them are decent folks in hard times. It is rare that people willingly choose sex work, instead, it's usually desperation and addiction. A desperate population does desperate things like petty crime.

[–] Rekorse@sh.itjust.works 2 points 13 hours ago

Its just a phrase about managing expectations. You can replace whore with literally any profession and its the same message.

[–] phoenixz@lemmy.ca 23 points 23 hours ago

Yeah that is fun and all but I can at least guarantee you that that shit won't fly in Europe, and likely neither in Canada. I can only imagine other countries will be penning their own laws outlawing this.

So tech giants then have the option to either go for separate chipsets for those countries or stip selling there.

Also, how do you want to implement this? Have the GPU request GPS data from the computer? That won't be hard to forgr., but let's say you ge that, then what?

You need to send that info somewhere or it'll be useless. How? Over the Internet? Ahw, my firewall told you to go fuck yourself. Over its own GPS line? A little bit of aluminum foil can do miracles.

So what are you going to do then? Require an active internet connection for your GPU to work? Bwhahahahha. Have you seen gamers responses to games that require active internet connections to play? You won't sell shit.

This is again a law designed by absolutely.emoty headed idiots tompleae some other empty headed idiots.

[–] NGC2346@sh.itjust.works 27 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (2 children)

How is this even legal? I am not even american nor living there, so how would the US be allowed to operate massive and unregulated surveillance through GPUs ?

The US is becoming worse than those they call villain.

[–] twice_hatch@midwest.social 10 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

The US has very low engagement of its voters, so even things that are illegal are starting to happen regularly.

It's the same as so many countries, once a few rich guys get into power, as long as the guys with guns will take their money, it doesn't really matter what want, the government gets captured and corrupted.

There's ways to fight it but it's a slog. I might give up. It's not my job to fix it, fixing things doesn't pay.

[–] Valmond@lemmy.world 3 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

Isn't it the reason for donald? Only like 60% vote, so the "stupid 30%" of the population can be used to grab the power seat?

[–] TronBronson@lemmy.world 2 points 13 hours ago

Basically yes. That’s why Fox News is such an important instrument to the movement. They get their voters primed up and angry all year. They came out and voted against trans people in bathrooms and they are okay to suffer if that is achieved

[–] phoenixz@lemmy.ca 8 points 22 hours ago

If you're in Europe I'm pretty sure those chips would violate the hell out of the GDPR and as such can't be sold there.

Even then, as posted in a different too level comment, this is just too easy to fake, or block.

It's an idiot law for idiots

[–] centof@lemm.ee 128 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (3 children)

Ah yes let's try to stifle Chinese innovation by ... checks notes ... expanding our surveillance state. Usually we are the ones calling China a surveillance state, but it's fine(it's not) once we do it.

[–] Saleh@feddit.org 5 points 15 hours ago

You joke, but western governments regularly pull the "our surveillance is good because we aren't an authoritarian regime" trope.

There is nothing more American than hipocracy my friend

[–] malin@thelemmy.club 25 points 1 day ago

Yeah. All the FUD about Huawei really solidified in my mind how stupid the average internet user is these days.

It's like, everything they were bitching about has already been confirmed to be happening with US companies thanks to PRISM and the Snowden leaks.

[–] Darkard@lemmy.world 203 points 1 day ago (17 children)

Between this, the tarrifs and the brain drain, why would any manufacturers consider operating in the US anymore?

[–] WhatAmLemmy@lemmy.world 86 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (5 children)

They'll still want access to Americans coz there are profits to be had, and they can price gouge under a fascist kleptocracy many orders of magnitude harder than elsewhere.

What they don't understand is that the fascist leadership will backstab many/most of them eventually, especially if they possess any moral fiber whatsoever. Luckily for them, capitalism has already purged corporate leadership of morality and ethics.

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[–] RoidingOldMan@lemmy.world 46 points 1 day ago (2 children)

This is absolutely insane and no one will want to buy those GPUs.

[–] Yttra@lemmy.world 35 points 1 day ago

Unless, of course, they're in all the GPUs that people want.

...It's unfortunately more likely that the majority of people won't notice or care, though.

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[–] thisbenzingring@lemmy.sdf.org 60 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Oh Senator Know-Nothing....

What are you going to do about firewalls and air-gapped networks? JFK you stupid asshole... GTFO

[–] d00ery@lemmy.world 53 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (2 children)

Next up GPUs require always-on connections and Nvidia requires a monthly subscription to pay for that.

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[–] Ledericas@lemm.ee 2 points 18 hours ago

why dont they just ask huwei to give them some spying tech.

[–] jubilationtcornpone@sh.itjust.works 64 points 1 day ago (5 children)

Senator Tom Cotton

Ah. Yeah, that tracks.

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[–] Squizzy@lemmy.world 19 points 1 day ago

Adversaries who are being treated to lower tarriffs than allies.

Cooked country.

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