With less than a week left until his term ends, President Joe Biden is far from done making his mark on the AI industry.
President Biden on Tuesday issued an executive order allowing private AI companies to lease federal land owned by the Department of Defense and Department of Energy to build AI data centers. Companies building data centers at these sites must bring enough clean energy resources online to match the power needed to power the data centers.
This is not a grant program. AI companies that build data centers at these federal sites will have to pay the full cost of building, operating, and maintaining them.
The White House said in a press release that the order is aimed at strengthening and securing America's global leadership in AI and preventing domestic AI companies from relying on other countries for access to AI tools and infrastructure. Ta. He added that these departments will be given adequate resources to quickly and efficiently inspect and approve bids for federal lands.
The executive order's emphasis on renewable energy here seems noteworthy. Data centers currently consume 4% of all electricity in the United States, and that number is expected to increase to 9% by the end of 2020, according to the Electric Power Research Institute. Overall, data center power demand is expected to double over the next five years, according to a report from JLL.
The executive order announces new rules and guidelines for AI chip exports as the Biden administration imposes further restrictions on many countries, including adversaries such as China and Russia, and imposes a 50,000 chip quota on most countries. The order was issued the next day. rest of the world.
It should be noted that these orders were issued just a week before Donald Trump returns to office, and he is expected to reverse many of the Biden administration's policies.