AI Manhattan Project and the AI Race

four Leading Executives from the Tech Industry testified before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

• Sam Altman, the co-founder and CEO of OpenAI. OpenAI is described as one of the world’s most advanced AI companies, known best for its ChatGPT product.
• Lisa Su, the chair and CEO of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). AMD develops high-performance processors, graphics chips, and AI accelerators that power artificial intelligence. She is also noted as a Texan.
• Michael Entratter, the CEO and co-founder of Coreweave. Coreweave is described as an AI hyperscaler and the world’s largest purpose-built AI cloud platform. Coreweave began seven years prior to the hearing, starting in a garage experimenting with graphics processing units (GPUs) for cryptocurrency mining before pivoting to support powerful AI applications.
• Brad Smith, the vice chair and president of Microsoft

I was listening to Altman and the other 3 panelists testimony yesterday, it was all about setting conditions for OpenAI to become the standard, the Senators said that toward the beginning. The states would be foolish to let this power slip away.

I was thinking about this during…

— Lord Mighty Humanzee (@HZardoz) May 12, 2025

Being Smart – Senator Cantwell

“Why do we need to move fast? We need to move fast because if we don’t we are looking at another Huawei another instance where the United States is behind…”.

“The faster the United States moves now i like this great uh Paul Romer quote which was about collaboration is the next phase of innovation if we don’t collaborate here if we throw down on politics instead of getting the policy right, we won’t move fast.”.

“Let’s allow these people to do what they do best and let’s make sure the United States has the right policies in place so that our open AI standard wins the day…”.

The issue is that OpenAI has a closed model:  we are not allowed to see how it was trained.  But the title OpenAI plays right into Open AI Standard.

Senator Cantwell also highlighted the need for specific policy actions to facilitate speed, such as:

• Setting standards. She asked the witnesses if they believed NIST setting standards was needed, “particularly if the United States wants to lead we will need industry standards… that will allow us to move much faster”.
• Being smart about data centers, sources of electricity, and building supply.
• Establishing export controls and trade agreements with allies to ensure US chips and technology dominate globally and prevent circumvention, which she stated is part of how “We are going to move fast”. She advocated for sophisticated democracies “setting the rules of the road and saying this is who you should buy from” to get leverage and move fast.
• Passing specific legislation, noting that seven bills from the committee got “stuck” previously, implying a failure to move fast on policy.

Contrasting Views On Energy – Will This Break The Vapid Use of Renewables, Or Will The Bro-ligarchs Get Preference

High Energy Consumption: Modern AI requires specialized computing capabilities that demand unprecedented computing power. This translates into substantial energy needs. Cororeweave, for example, operates data centers using 360 megawatts of power, with plans for a 10 gigawatt facility. The witness from Microsoft mentions going from zero to becoming the largest industrial user of electricity in southeastern Wisconsin, roughly 400 megawatts. It is stated that the industry will account for a significant, though not dominant, portion of the total additional electricity the country is going to need.

Strain on Energy Grid and Need for More Generation: This immense demand puts a strain on energy infrastructure and necessitates dramatically more power generation. Meeting this need requires accelerating infrastructure projects, which face challenges with permitting and regulatory processes. Senator Markey notes that the massive data centers required for AI development put stress on the grid. There are concerns about the sources of this additional energy; currently, 56% of US electricity comes from carbon, raising potential issues if new generation relies heavily on fossil fuels. Senator Markey points out the contrast between Trump’s stated plans regarding fossil fuels and the fact that the majority of new installed capacity last year was from wind, solar, and battery.

Increased Costs for Consumers: Increased electricity demand for data centers could potentially raise residential power bills. Senator Fetterman suggests this increase could be as much as 20%, which is a concern for families. Mr. Smith of Microsoft acknowledges this and states their goal is to manage their activity so it does not raise the price of electricity to the community. They propose solutions like investing in more generation and proposing rate increases on themselves to pay for grid improvements.

Water Consumption for Cooling: Data centers also require significant amounts of water, particularly for cooling. This can put a strain on water resources, especially in regions already facing droughts. Mr. Smith notes that water use is a huge priority, particularly where water is in short supply. He mentions using technologies like liquid cooling, which is a closed loop system that significantly reduces water consumption, and Microsoft’s commitment to water replenishment. Mr. Entrader also highlights new cooling technologies like liquid cooling for efficiency.

Potential Contribution to Climate Disaster: Senator Markey explicitly links the environmental impact of AI infrastructure, including energy and water demands, to the potential for contributing to a climate disaster. While acknowledging AI’s potential to help combat climate change (e.g., improving weather forecasts, predicting power supply/demand), he stresses that the negative consequences must also be considered.

Need for Study and Measurement: There is a call for the government to conduct comprehensive studies and convene stakeholders to better measure AI’s environmental impact.  Altman agrees that studying and measuring is generally a good thing, while also suggesting the conversation about environmental impact has gotten “somewhat out of whack”.

Balancing Benefits and Risks: The discussion implicitly acknowledges a tension between AI’s potential positive environmental impacts (e.g., aiding scientific discovery, potentially helping with climate solutions) and its negative environmental footprint. Senator Klobuchar quotes David Brooks observing it is “literally unknowable whether this technology is leading us to heaven or hell”, a sentiment echoed by Senator Markey in the context of AI’s potential to find a cure for cancer versus contributing to a climate disaster