by Aldgra Fredly via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
President Joe Biden issued an executive order on Tuesday to accelerate the construction of large-scale data centers and clean power infrastructure for artificial intelligence (AI) on federal sites.
Biden, whose presidency will end when President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20, said the order will direct the Defense Department (DOD) and Energy Department (DOE) to lease federal sites to the private sector for building AI infrastructure.
The agencies will select sites that are equipped with high-capacity transmission infrastructure and have minimal adverse effects on communities, the natural environment, and commercial resources.
The outgoing president said he aims to speed up the construction of advanced AI infrastructure in the United States “in a way that enhances economic competitiveness, national security, AI safety, and clean energy.”
“Cutting-edge AI will have 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,” Biden said in a statement. “However, we cannot take our lead for granted. We will not let America be out-built when it comes to the technology that will define the future, nor should we sacrifice critical environmental standards and our shared efforts to protect clean air and clean water.”
The White House stated that federal agencies will review proposals from companies seeking to build and operate large-scale AI infrastructure before granting leases for the selected sites.
The chosen developers will then be required to procure new clean energy generation resources that meet the electricity and capacity needs of their data centers, according to a White House fact sheet.
The Interior Department will also help to identify lands under its management that can be used for building clean energy facilities to power data centers on DOE and DOD sites, while also accelerating the permitting processes for geothermal projects, which could support future AI operations, the White House said.
“Agencies will prioritize and dedicate staff toward permitting this infrastructure in a timely manner, and DOD will immediately undertake environmental analyses that will improve the speed and accuracy of future site-specific reviews,” it stated.
To prevent an increase in electricity bills for consumers, the White House stated that developers will bear the full cost of building, operating, and maintaining AI data centers and power facilities. They are also required to provide “prevailing wages” to workers.
The order also requires developers to meet lab-security requirements and assess the national security implications of AI models developed on federal sites, including their safety risks and potential to advance national security objectives, the White House stated.
The Biden administration said the construction of such data centers will help prevent “adversaries from accessing powerful systems to the detriment” of the U.S. military and national security and reduce America’s reliance on other countries for access to powerful AI tools.
A senior administration official told reporters on Monday that Biden issued the order to expedite the rate at which America builds “the world’s largest, most powerful AI infrastructure” powered by clean energy. The order also seeks to preserve America’s leadership in AI and counter national security risks posed by adversaries.
“So in the coming years, we’ll face extraordinary potential national security risks, including the possibility of strategic surprise if adversaries such as the PRC [People’s Republic of China] develop and acquire these more powerful AI systems before we do,” the official stated.
Another senior official stated that China has made “substantial investments” in AI and is rapidly advancing its AI infrastructure development.
This came a day after the Biden administration proposed new rules on the exports of advanced computer chips used in AI development, which it said was aimed at ensuring that “the world’s AI runs on American rails.”
The White House said the restrictions will not apply to 18 allies and partners of the United States, including the United Kingdom. Exports to China and Russia are already subject to restrictions.
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