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President Joe Biden took a significant step on Thursday by signing an executive order geared towards accelerating the development of artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure within the United States while addressing associated national security considerations.
This new directive grants authority to the U.S. Department of Defense and Department of Energy to lease federal properties for the establishment of large-scale AI data centers capable of producing gigawatts of power.
The White House emphasized the critical role of AI, stating that it is positioned to impact various sectors, including healthcare, transportation, and education, underscoring the importance of keeping these developments domestic rather than offshoring them. This message was conveyed in a statement released by the administration.
As part of the executive order, guidelines were introduced for AI developers utilizing these leased sites, mandating that they cover the full costs of constructing, operating, and maintaining the facilities while ensuring they also provide clean energy to meet operational needs. This measure aims to mitigate potential increases in electricity costs.
Furthermore, companies leasing federal land are expected to procure a “suitable share” of semiconductors produced in the U.S. and to compensate their workforce with “prevailing wages,” as noted in the official release. Once the specified sites have been identified, developers will be invited to submit their proposals for leasing.
According to a report from the International Energy Agency, global electricity consumption driven by data centers, alongside sectors like AI and cryptocurrency, is projected to double between 2022 and 2026.
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The functioning of substantial AI models, notably large language models such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, heavily depends on the infrastructure of data centers, which require extensive data for training and the capacity to produce advanced, human-like responses to user interactions. In the quest to cool these power-intensive facilities, AI developers have been compelled to raise their water usage, a practice that has raised environmental concerns and long-term sustainability doubts among critics.
In response to these challenges, major tech companies have been investigating alternative energy sources to power their data centers sustainably. In recent developments, Google, Microsoft, and Amazon have all engaged in nuclear power agreements, with Microsoft notably collaborating with Constellation to reactivate the Three Mile Island reactor.
Additional reporting by CNBC’s Ryan Browne.
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