AI Czar David Sacks says a freeze on building artificial intelligence data centers would not stop global AI progress, but would instead weaken the United States economically and strategically.
Earlier this week, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders called on the US government to impose a moratorium on the data center buildout, arguing that AI is making billionaires richer. Meanwhile, Americans face the risk of job loss, and kids get emotional support from chatbots.
But Sacks says AI is not a discretionary technology that governments can pause unilaterally without dire consequences.
“AI is a profound technology that is going to have huge economic and national security implications. And the thing that Bernie gets wrong is that he can’t stop the progress. He can’t stop China from making progress. We can stop progress in the US, but it’s not going to stop China from advancing these technologies. A lot of this is just math. And just because we stopped doesn’t mean China’s going to stop.”
He looks at Europe as a cautionary example of what happens when innovation is constrained over long periods.
“What people like Bernie really want is they want the US to become like Europe. Europe has half the share of global GDP that it had 30 years ago. And that’s because of their hostility towards innovation and technological progress. And that’s kind of where Bernie wants us to be. He wants us to go down the path of Europe.”
Sacks ties the AI buildout debate directly to wealth creation and economic outcomes, warning that freezing development would have lasting consequences for US power and living standards.
“Well, look, capitalism sometimes results in the unequal distribution of wealth. But socialism always results in the equal distribution of poverty and misery. And if the US stops developing AI, if we hand this leadership to other countries, it’ll make the United States poor, it’ll make the American people poor and it will cede our leadership globally. We will not be the preeminent power in the world anymore.”
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