Will US red tape and other infrastructure delays give China the lead in AI race?

US Senator Ted Cruz warned a Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee hearing on Thursday that delays in building AI infrastructure could cede the lead in the AI race to China, citing the need for massive capital investment in data centres and fibre networks. Witness Asad Ramzanali, director of AI and technology policy at the Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator, testified that the current data centre buildout lacks coherent governance and is provoking backlash over water, electricity, and environmental concerns.

Will US red tape and other infrastructure delays give China the lead in AI race? Senators told of need for rapid expansion of data centres and fibre networks as Washington fears losing ground to Beijing Lucy Quaggin /author/lucy-quaggin in New York artificial intelligence https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3361393/us-chinese-ai-model-gap-narrows-what-next-washington?module=inline&pgtype=article race if delays in establishing the United States’ AI infrastructure are not addressed, a congressional hearing heard on Thursday, just days before the deadline for the release of new industry guard rails. “We are in a strategic competition with China to lead the world on AI, and winning that race requires massive capital investment to build the networks that will power tomorrow’s AI applications,” said US Senator Ted Cruz, chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. The hearing concentrated on the impact of AI on American infrastructure and the need for strong, high-speed networks to support US advancement in a race against China. Data and computing centres, which have emerged as key elements to the growth of AI in both countries, were a key focus of the discussion. The rapid expansion of US data centres has been opposed by communities concerned about their water and electricity consumption, environmental impact and, in some cases, a lack of public consultation. “Today’s data centre buildout has no coherent governance strategy at all and it’s provoking real backlash around the country,” hearing witness Asad Ramzanali, director of AI and technology policy at the Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator, told the committee.