Nandini Roy Choudhury, writer
Brief news
- OpenAI’s blueprint proposes AI economic zones, leveraging U.S. Navy nuclear expertise, and private funding for government projects to enhance AI infrastructure in the U.S.
- The plan includes a North American AI alliance to compete with China and aims for significant investments and job creation in AI-related sectors.
- OpenAI emphasizes the need for new energy infrastructure and regulatory support to meet the growing demands of the AI industry, particularly in the Midwest and Southwest regions.
Detailed news
According to a document obtained by CNBC, OpenAI’s official “blueprint for U.S. AI infrastructure” includes the establishment of artificial intelligence economic zones, the utilization of the U.S. Navy’s nuclear power expertise, and government projects that are funded by private investors. The company intends to present this blueprint in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday.
The blueprint also delineates a North American AI alliance to compete with China’s initiatives and a National Transmission Highway Act that is “as ambitious as the 1956 National Interstate and Defense Highways Act.”
OpenAI presents a positive future for AI in the document, describing it as “as foundational a technology as electricity, and promising similarly distributed access and benefits.” The company stated that the investment in U.S. AI will result in a modernized grid that includes nuclear power, a new group of chip manufacturing facilities, GDP growth, and billions of dollars in investment from global funds. Additionally, tens of thousands of jobs will be created.
OpenAI has explicitly stated its intention to collaborate with the incoming administration on AI policy in light of Donald Trump’s election as President-elect. The company’s presentation on Wednesday provides a detailed account of its strategy.
Trump’s campaign platform indicates that he intends to repeal President Biden’s executive order on AI. The platform asserts that the order “impedes AI innovation and imposes radical left-wing ideas on the development of this technology.” Instead, Republicans advocate for AI development that is “rooted in Free Speech and Human Flourishing.”
AI economic zones are co-created by state and federal governments in OpenAI’s presentation. These zones are intended to provide states with incentives to expedite the permitting and approval processes for AI infrastructure. The organization intends to construct new wind farms and solar arrays and obtain authorization for the utilization of unused nuclear reactors.
“States that offer subsidies or other forms of assistance to companies that launch infrastructure projects may require that a portion of the new compute be allocated to their public universities in order to establish AI research labs and developer hubs that are in alignment with their primary commercial sectors,” OpenAI stated.
Additionally, OpenAI stated that it anticipates the implementation of a “National Transmission Highway Act” that could facilitate the construction of natural gas pipelines, fiber connectivity, and increased power generation. The company stated that it requires “new authority and funding to unblock the planning, permitting, and payment for transmission” and that its current procedures are not keeping up with the demand fueled by AI.
The blueprints state that “the government can encourage private investors to fund high-cost energy infrastructure projects by committing to purchase energy and other means that lessen credit risk.”
An investment in additional U.S. data centers and a North American AI Alliance
In addition, OpenAI envisions a North American AI alliance of Western countries that could eventually develop into a global network, such as a “Gulf Cooperation Council” with the UAE and other countries in the region.
The company also delineated its nuclear power strategy, noting that the U.S. Navy operates approximately 100 small modular reactors (SMRs) to power naval submarines, and employing the Navy’s expertise could result in the construction of additional civilian SMRs, despite the fact that China has “built as much nuclear power capacity in 10 years as the US built in 40.”
OpenAI’s infrastructure blueprint is consistent with the statements made by Chris Lehane, the company’s director of global policy, in a recent interview with CNBC. He perceives the Midwest and Southwest as potential central regions for AI investment.
“Parts of the country that have been “left behind” as we transition to the digital era, where the two regions receive a significant amount of economic benefits and economic power… Lehane stated that regions such as the Midwest and Southwest will be the types of regions where there is the land and capacity to construct wind farms, solar facilities, and potentially nuclear facilities as part of the energy transition.
Lehane clarified that the infrastructure is contingent upon the United States’ ability to sustain an advantage over China in the field of artificial intelligence.
[In] Kansas and Iowa, which are situated on top of an immense quantity of agricultural data, it is worth considering the establishment of a data center,” Lehane stated. “One gigawatt is a significant amount of power. We propose that they utilize their public university systems to develop an agricultural-based LLM or inference model that would not only benefit their community but also establish them as a center of agricultural AI.”
Lehane cited an estimate that the United States will require 50 gigawatts of energy by 2030 to meet the AI industry’s requirements and to compete with China. This is particularly relevant given that China has approved 20 nuclear reactors in the past two years and has plans to add 11 more next year.
“We have no alternative,” Lehane stated. “We are required to contend with that.”
Source: CNBC news
