On October 27, local time in the United States, OpenAI issued a statement calling on the White House to significantly increase investment in power production capacity to ensure that the United States continues to lead China in the field of artificial intelligence. The company is planning a series of massive infrastructure expansions that will consume large amounts of electricity. It's unclear where all the power needed will come from. OpenAI recommends that the United States add 100 gigawatts of electricity capacity each year.
In a recent interview with the media at the "Stargate" artificial intelligence data center in Abilene, Texas, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said that building artificial intelligence infrastructure not only requires powerful computing power, but is also highly dependent on sufficient power supply. He emphasized, “Electricity is not just an ordinary utility, but also a strategic asset, which is crucial to ensuring that we maintain our leading position in artificial intelligence, a technology related to the future.”
According to an 11-page report submitted by OpenAI to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, the United States should commit to building 100 gigawatts of new power capacity every year. A gigawatt is a unit of electricity, and 10 gigawatts is approximately equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of 8 million American households. OpenAI pointed out that China’s new power capacity reached 429 GW last year, compared with only 51 GW in the United States. This gap creates the so-called “electronics gap” that puts the United States at risk of falling behind. "Electronics are the new oil," the company said.
Recently, OpenAI and a number of partners have signed data center expansion agreements in an attempt to break through the existing power supply bottleneck. The U.S. power grid is already facing severe challenges amid the surge in demand for artificial intelligence.
Industry insiders analyze that power construction will become a key factor in measuring future technological competitiveness. OpenAI recommends that the U.S. government should quickly take measures to massively expand power infrastructure to ensure the long-term development and global competitiveness of the local AI industry.