Abstract:
On November 6, according to the "Wall Street Journal" report, even before Wednesday's U.S. midterm elections have settled, OpenAI's executives have begun to face a pressing question: Will the election results make it more difficult for the company to obtain the massive computing power needed to maintain business growth?
US data center construction encounters wave of opposition
According to people familiar with the matter, during an employee question and answer session, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman answered questions about data centers and public sentiment towards AI. The day before, a wave of opposition to data center construction helped candidates who pledged to freeze data center development win gubernatorial elections in Texas, Georgia, Ohio and Michigan. These states are important areas for data center location.
Altman acknowledged public concerns about data center water use, people familiar with the matter said. Whatever the reason, he said he understands why people might not want to live near data centers. At one point, he mused that the company might consider building data centers in the desert.
Ultraman
According to a previous report by the Wall Street Journal, OpenAI executives are busy discussing whether the company needs to adjust its expectations for the scale of data center computing power next year. Employees involved in the development of the OpenAI data center were exchanging intelligence on newly elected Democratic politicians in key states and discussing how best to engage with them, according to internal information seen by The Wall Street Journal.
Across Silicon Valley, similar scenes are playing out. Over the years, technology companies have poured hundreds of billions of dollars into the AI race and carefully managed relationships with officials at all levels of government who support AI development. Now, faced with changes in the political environment, these companies have to urgently develop new response plans.
Overnight, they found themselves facing potentially a complete moratorium on data center construction, stricter environmental regulations and longer approval cycles. In addition, the possible introduction of new AI safety regulations may further slow down the development of the industry.
Tech investor Brad Gerstner said on the "All-In" podcast that as many as 35% of data centers originally planned to be built in the United States next year are now at risk. Government relations directors at so-called hyperscale cloud providers moved quickly to establish lines of communication with newly elected governors and their transition teams to try to understand how their rhetoric during the campaign would translate into policy action.
On Thursday, OpenAI became the latest AI giant to announce its overall commitment to data center construction, clarifying its approach to building new data centers. OpenAI said it would not require government officials to sign confidentiality agreements when negotiating data center construction. At the same time, the company will consult with local communities and provide clear information publicly about the impact of its infrastructure investments on energy supplies, water use and noise.
In its S-1 prospectus submitted last week, Anthropic warned investors of the risk that local and state governments may issue a moratorium on data center construction. "Such a moratorium or similar measures may cause the construction or expansion of computing facilities on which we rely to be delayed or even impossible to implement," the document said.
Anthropic said it is advancing projects in multiple "non-U.S. jurisdictions" to "reduce the risks associated with concentrating a significant portion of its computing infrastructure in the United States." This S-1 document details Anthropic’s AI computing power and infrastructure commitments up to 2045, totaling approximately US$895.4 billion. In addition, the company also separately announced plans to build data centers in Texas and New York, and related facilities will be put into operation this year.
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