Microchips have been used in the technology that we use on a daily basis for decades now. From your old game consoles to the most high-end desktop setups, microchips are the backbone or the motherboards of our technology. You might not know that here in the US; we rely heavily on chip manufacturers in China and other countries to provide us with chips. Becoming this reliant on a necessity like chips can cause an array of issues for American consumers. Hence the prolonged “chip” shortage that we have been dealing with since the start of the pandemic. In a society where we are only becoming more contingent on technology and the innovation of technology, chips are what we need to invest in now to make our future that much more progressive.
On Thursday, July 28th, The House of Representatives passed the legislation on a 243-187 vote to pass the CHIPS Act, which will provide $280 billion in subsidies to domestic semiconductor manufacturers. It also invests billions in science and technology innovation in a bid to strengthen the United States’ competitiveness and self-reliance in what is seen as a keystone industry for economic and national security.
You might be asking yourself what precisely a microchip is. How does such a small piece of technology play such a drastic role in my day-to-day life? Well, the answer may surprise you. A microchip is a set of electronic currents on a small flat piece of silicon. They can have either two functions to them, memory or logic.
Similarly, your laptop or smartphone has storage or RAM (random access memory). Storage is just one function of a microchip. The fun begins when microchips are used for logic, such as artificial intelligence and virtual reality. As our desire for technological advances increases, so will our demand for these microchips. Since the start of the pandemic, there has been a short supply of chips produced to offset the neglected demand that was caused by the pandemic. Now that we are meticulously arriving at sustainable times, we need these chips now more than ever. We need to create new vehicles and more innovative technology to make our lives easier, not just for us but for our future generations.
“It is a major step forward for our economic security, national security, supply chains, and, as I said, America’s future,” New York Senator Chuck Schumer said Tuesday afternoon.
White House press secretary Karine Jean – Pierre stated at a white house press briefing, “CHIPS ACT is intended to bolster American competitiveness and our own domestic supply chain security. “Ensure chip incentives generate more semiconductor investment here in the US, not China.” One controversial aspect of this ACT is that the US wants to set strict guardrails (policies that will help slow the growth of investment in China) to encourage domestic growth within the US and not be so reliant on oversea factories to manufacture chips for US consumers. The CHIPS ACT does “have bipartisan support in congress,” we can expect a bill to be on the president’s desk as soon as early August. The future of technology and innovation in the US is at stake with this ACT. An investment as significant as this can make a drastic difference in the way our future generations will perceive technology, and the technological advances that this ACT will bring will be extensive.
Written by: Baalaaj Harris
July 30, 2022
