Many things have contributed to the United States being the world leader, the superpower, that we are. One is geography – the vast oceans on both coasts and our immense natural resources protected us during World War Two and helped us rebuild the West during the Cold War. Another factor is our personal and economic freedom – capitalism is the greatest spark of innovation and creativity the world has ever known, and we have that in spades. However, if we are not careful, we are at risk of losing our position as the preeminent global superpower and, should that happen, it will be near impossible to regain our stature and all the benefits it offers Americans on a daily basis.
Data is the future; artificial intelligence (or AI) is the future. And the future, as the saying goes, is now. The United States must create an environment where the development of AI can flourish, or we risk being left behind. Because, yes, China is waiting in the wings for us to stumble so they can overtake us.
Keep in mind, AI is going to influence nearly every aspect of our lives; there will be few places where it will not influence, if not dominate. This includes national security, healthcare, our children’s education, and what we see and watch online. Do you trust China to be the dominant player in any of these fields? I certainly don’t and you shouldn’t either. After all, these is the same country that intentionally exports deadly fentanyl to our streets. Common sense dictates that America has to be at the forefront of AI. Because if we fail to achieve that objective and the Chinese win the AI war, it risks our way of life and the freedoms we all cherish.
To beat the Chinese at AI, we first need to build the infrastructure to power it, and that means the construction of hundreds of new data centers across the nation. I understand that some people have legitimate concerns about big data and tech firms. But, while I understand those concerns, the greater threat is China controlling AI – not Amazon or Google. We can hold these tech companies accountable because they are owned and operated by Americans.
Not surprisingly, President Trump wants to win the AI race. In fact, he recently announced $92 billion in privately funded investments in data centers and energy projects in Pennsylvania. That’s a lot of money, but it’s really just a start.
Case in point: on July 23rd , President Trump issued an Executive Order that “Accelerates the Federal Permitting of Data Centers.” Because, simply put, we can’t allow a misguided government bureaucracy to get in the way of building data centers. For example, this Executive Order streamlines environmental permitting “by leveraging existing exemptions and creating new ones to expedite the construction…” of data centers. That doesn’t mean I don’t care about the environment, it just means that overzealous environmentalists shouldn’t be able to exploit regulatory and legal bureaucracy to stop the development of data centers.
Also on July 23rd , the White House released “Winning the AI Race: America’s AI Action Plan” which states that: “Winning the AI race will usher in a new golden age of human flourishing, economic competitiveness, and national security for the American people.” This plan also protects us from woke versions of AI, by “Updating Federal procurement guidelines to ensure that the government only contracts with frontier large language model developers who ensure that their systems are objective and free from top-down ideological bias.”
The fight for AI and data will determine who leads the global economy for the next 100 years. If we don’t have our hands on the levers controlling this technology so that we can safeguard Americans from harm, the United States will no longer be the superpower we are today. Our national security now clearly depends on who controls this emerging technology.
I support the White House’s plan to expedite the building of data centers to power AI because I want America to remain the world’s leader in technology, innovation and security. We can do good by doing what’s right, and we can protect not only the legacy of the United States, but the future of it as well.
Build the centers, build the infrastructure, get the power flowing and lower the costs as we reap the benefits of all the jobs needed to create and maintain it all. Do it now, because the alternative is to allow adversarial nations to pass us in this race. If the lead on this is lost, it will be nearly impossible to get it back.
Derek Hunter is the host of the Derek Hunter Show on WMAL in Washington, DC, and has a free daily podcast (subscribe!) and author of the book, Outrage, INC., which exposes how liberals use fear and hatred to manipulate the masses, and host of the weekly “Week in F*cking Review” podcast where the news is spoken about the way it deserves to be. Follow him on Twitter at @DerekAHunter.
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