President Biden on Tuesday signed an executive order aimed at fast-tracking the development of large-scale artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure in the United States while considering both national security and climate change.
The order directs the Departments of Defense and Energy to lease federal sites for private sector companies to build AI data centers, with a focus on clean energy and national security. The goal is to accelerate the development of AI infrastructure to maintain America’s lead in the field, which has significant implications for national security, economic competitiveness, and environmental protection.
The executive order also seeks to ensure that the construction of AI data centers is done with public labor agreements, pays for the costs of operation, and requires developers to bring sufficient “clean power” generation to match the full capacity needs of their facilities.
The order also includes a provision to identify lands managed by the Interior Department that are suitable for clean energy development and can support data centers on government sites. Additionally, the Energy Department will provide technical assistance to state public utility commissions regarding electricity tariff designs that can support connecting new large customers with clean energy.
The executive order comes as the Biden administration proposes new restrictions on exports of artificial intelligence chips, an attempt to balance national security concerns with economic interests. The move has been met with criticism from industry executives and officials from the European Union.