OpenAI Says US Allies Should Partner On AI To Take On China

(Bloomberg) -- OpenAI is calling for the US and its allies to work together to support the infrastructure needed to develop artificial intelligence systems and compete with China.

The AI startup said Wednesday that the US and neighboring countries should form a “North American Compact for AI” that can streamline access to talent, financing and supply chains for building out the technology. The company said this collaboration could later expand to include a “global network of US allies and partners,” including countries in the Middle East. 

The proposal was included in a new policy blueprint from OpenAI unveiled at an event in Washington hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The document offers OpenAI's most detailed public suggestions yet for how the US can maintain its lead in artificial intelligence and meet the technology's significant energy demands. 

OpenAI said the US should backstop costly energy infrastructure projects by committing to purchase power from them. The company recommended the US establish “AI Economic Zones” that speed up the permitting process and help bring nuclear reactors back online. It also proposed expanding nuclear energy capacity by tapping the US Navy, which has built compact reactors to power submarines.

“AI presents an unmissable opportunity to reindustrialize the US, and through that, generate the kind of broad-based economic growth that will revitalize the American Dream,” OpenAI said. “It also presents a national security imperative to protect our nation and our allies against a surging China by offering an AI shaped by democratic values, promoting individual choice and benefiting the most people possible.” 

OpenAI's leadership previously sought to raise billions in funding from investors in the Middle East and other markets to expand the supply of chips, energy and data centers needed to develop AI. Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman has also met with US officials to get them on board with the plan. 

The latest proposal comes as the US government prepares for a change in administration. President-elect Donald Trump has acknowledged the need to expand US energy capacity to stay competitive in AI and suggested loosening permitting requirements as well as using fossil fuels and nuclear energy.

At the policy event on Wednesday, Chris Lehane, OpenAI's vice president of global affairs, said the startup has spent “a lot of time” with both the Biden administration and Trump's team discussing AI infrastructure needs.

“I'm an optimist,” Lehane said. “I think that this is going to be one of the subject areas in the next Congress and with the next administration that folks are going to want to work on because the stakes are just so big.”