OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Nvidia CEO Renxun Huang met with senior officials from the Biden administration and other industry leaders at the White House to discuss how to meet the large-scale infrastructure needs of artificial intelligence (AI) projects.
At the White House meeting on Thursday (September 12th), attendees from the technology industry included not only Altman and Huang Renxun, but also Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, Google President Ruth Porat, Amazon's cloud business leader Matt Garman, and Microsoft President Brad Smith; Government officials include Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, National Security Advisor Jack Sullivan, and Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm; Attendees from the energy industry, including Calvin Butler, CEO of energy supplier Exelon.
Drive large investments
The rapid development of the artificial intelligence industry requires significant investment in data centers and energy supply.
After the talks, the White House immediately announced the establishment of an interdepartmental working group to help promote the development of data centers in the United States and take measures to support accelerated licensing of these facilities, which will ensure that the United States maintains its leadership position in the field of artificial intelligence.
Artificial intelligence has driven the surge in data center construction in the United States, while the Chip and Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act have also driven broader manufacturing growth.
OpenAI stated in a statement on Thursday that "building additional infrastructure in the United States is crucial for the country's industrial policies and economic future." The company emphasized the economic benefits of investing in US data center projects, including the potential creation of 40000 jobs in multiple states.
And, according to the White House statement, the Department of Energy will also create an AI data center engagement team to guide data center owners and operators to better utilize government loans, grants, and tax credits to help them find clean and reliable sources of electricity.
The Biden administration has stated that renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, as well as improvements in battery storage and energy efficiency, are some of the best ways to meet the growing energy demands of data centers due to their rapid expansion and cost competitiveness.
According to the US Department of Energy, these investments, combined with data center expansion and other factors, are expected to drive a 15% to 20% increase in electricity demand over the next 10 years. The Ministry of Energy also pointed out last month that "the recent growth in power demand driven by data centers is an opportunity to accelerate the establishment of clean energy solutions
Google President Porat pointed out that US energy infrastructure is crucial to ensuring America's leadership in the emerging field of artificial intelligence. In a statement, she stated, "Today's White House meeting is an important opportunity to advance the work needed to modernize and expand the capacity of the US energy network