On Tuesday, President Joe Biden issued an ambitious executive order on artificial intelligence that aims to guarantee that the United States can swiftly and efficiently build the infrastructure required for sophisticated AI operations, such as massive data centers and new renewable power facilities.
While placing restrictions and protections on companies constructing on government property, the executive order instructs federal agencies to expedite the development of extensive AI infrastructure.
Additionally, it instructs several agencies to provide government sites for new clean power facilities and AI data centers.
These organizations will assist in expediting the regulatory process and facilitating the infrastructure’s connection to the electrical grid.
AI has “profound implications for national security and enormous potential to improve Americans’ lives if harnessed responsibly, from helping cure disease to keeping communities safe by mitigating the effects of climate change,” according to a statement in which Biden expressed his views.
The Democratic president asserted, “But we cannot take our lead for granted.”
“We will not allow America to fall behind in the technological advancements that will shape the future, nor will we compromise our common efforts to safeguard clean air and water, as well as important environmental standards.”
The Defense and Energy departments will each designate a minimum of three locations for the construction of AI data centers by the private sector under the new regulations.
According to top administration officials, the agencies would issue “competitive solicitations” to private corporations to construct AI data centers on such public sites.
Among other measures, developers constructing on certain sites will have to cover the cost of creating those facilities and provide enough renewable power generation to meet their data centers’ full capacity requirements.
Laptops 1000According to officials, a corporation will own the materials it produces on property that the U.S. government leases to it.
The goal, according to Biden, is to expedite the clean energy transition in a manner that is “responsible and respectful to local communities” and does not increase costs for the typical American.
To prevent development from driving up electricity prices for consumers, developers who are chosen to build on government property will have to cover all costs associated with constructing and running AI infrastructure, the administration stated.
The orders also stipulate that public labor agreements must be followed when building AI data centers on federal property.
Government officials say that some of the sites are only available to small and medium-sized AI companies.
Additionally, government organizations will finish a study on how all AI data centers affect electricity costs, and the Energy Department will offer state public utility commissions technical support on electricity tariff designs that can facilitate the connection of new large customers with clean energy.
As part of the directive, administration officials stated that the Interior Department will determine which properties under its management are appropriate for developing sustainable energy and can accommodate data centers on government infrastructure.
“The amounts of electricity and processing power required for training and running frontier models are proliferating and are expected to rise even further,” stated Tarun Chhabra, the president’s deputy assistant and coordinator for national security and technology.
“We anticipate that top AI developers will aim to run data centers with up to five gigawatts of capacity for training AI models by 2028.”
According to him, a larger nationwide network of data centers is also necessary for the large-scale deployment of AI systems.
Finding a way to construct the data centers and power infrastructure needed to support frontier AI operations in the US is crucial from a national security perspective, he stated, adding that establishing data centers domestically will stop “adversaries from accessing these powerful systems to the detriment of our military and our national security.”
“That kind of investment will also keep the United States from becoming more reliant on other nations for access to AI tools,” Chhabra added.
The executive order follows the Biden administration’s proposal to impose more export restrictions on AI chips to balance the technology’s potential threats to national security and the interests of other nations and businesses.
Executives in the chip sector and EU officials expressed worry over the proposal’s export limits, which would apply to 120 countries.
