Trump Electrifies AI to Compete with China
By Rebecca Grant: Electricity for artificial intelligence is at the top of President-elect Donald J. Trump’s policy agenda, signaling a strong link between China policy and AI dominance.
The announcement of North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum to be Secretary of the Interior included a new National Energy Council, and an important statement on AI. “With U.S. Energy Dominance, we will drive down inflation, win the AI race with China (and others) and expand American diplomatic power to end wars around the world,” the Trump-Vance statement read. The AI section was omitted from many press articles, but Politico headlined it.
To hear him tell it, Trump is fully committed to AI. “This is shocking to me, but AI requires twice the energy that the country already produces,” Trump said in his August interview with Elon Musk. “So, we’re going to have to build a lot of energy if our country will be competitive with China, because that’s our primary competitor for this on the AI. You’re going to need a lot of electricity. You’re going to need tremendous electricity, almost double what we produce now for the whole country if you can believe it. Read the full transcript here.
Trump pursued AI in his first term. He is also well aware of the electric power generation needs for AI, and has slotted it into his strategy for American energy dominance. Trump has advocated for “new nuclear reactors” on day one, and commented favorably on small modular reactors. Read more analysis on Trump and nuclear energy from AEI here and from Lexington here.
Trump is widely expected to repeal Biden’s AI order due to its regulatory focus. He may keep new rules on U.S. companies investing in Chinese AI. Competing with China is emerging as a top AI policy priority, and that will affect the Trump administration’s stance on Big Tech. Read more from Brookings on Trump’s AI focus here.