The Zhitong Finance App learned that Microsoft (MSFT.US) president Brad Smith (Brad Smith) said that the tech company's high-profile deal with the UAE-backed artificial intelligence company G42 may eventually involve the transfer of complex chips and tools. A senior Republican congressman warned that the move could have an impact on national security.

Microsoft announced in April that it would invest 1.5 billion US dollars in G42, an UAE artificial intelligence company headquartered in Abu Dhabi. Meanwhile, Microsoft will acquire a minority stake in G42, and its president Smith will join the G42 board of directors. G42 will run its artificial intelligence applications and services through Microsoft's cloud computing platform Azure.

Smith said in an interview this week that the agreement may enter the second phase, including exporting key components of artificial intelligence technology, such as model weights, which are the crown jewels of artificial intelligence systems and can determine how powerful they are. Smith said there is no fixed timeline for the second phase.

US officials said artificial intelligence systems could pose a threat to national security. Last October, the Biden administration asked manufacturers of large artificial intelligence systems to share details about these systems with the US government.

Approval from the US Department of Commerce is required to proceed with the deal. Microsoft executives said the agreement has safeguards to protect Microsoft technology and prevent it from being used by some entities in Asia to train artificial intelligence systems.

However, these measures have not been made public, and some US lawmakers question whether these measures are sufficient.

Some US lawmakers were shocked by the closed-door negotiations between the two companies on technology transfer terms and guarantees.

Michael McCaul, chairman of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee, said: “Despite the significant impact on national security, Congress has yet to receive full notification of this agreement from the executive branch.”

The US Department of Commerce has requested a notice and is requesting an export license in some regions to export artificial intelligence chips overseas. But Microsoft's deal with G42 highlights gaps in US law, as regulators are anxious to keep up with rapidly evolving technology.

For example, there are currently no regulations to restrict the export of artificial intelligence models, although McCaul and a bipartisan panel of lawmakers proposed legislation this week that would give US officials more explicit powers.

Microsoft executives said the company welcomed the debate on a new legal framework governing the transfer of artificial intelligence technology, and said the deal with G42 requires the UAE company to comply with the evolution of US regulations.