tech
January 20, 2026
Don't risk the AI revolution over electricity populism
The United States needs more electricity now, not tomorrow. The country is locked in an existential competition with China over supremacy in artificial intelligence and the technologies that will define economic and military power in the 21st century. AI is extraordinarily electricity-intensive. Yet, America’s power grid is fragile, aging, and constrained by a political and regulatory system that makes it painfully slow to build new generation.
TL;DR
- The US needs more electricity urgently to compete with China in AI and future technologies.
- AI data centers are electricity-intensive, and the US power grid is aging and constrained by slow regulations.
- Politicians are pandering to populist sentiments, hindering adaptation to AI's power demands.
- AI data centers create jobs, tax revenue, and economic growth, and their deployment should be accelerated.
- Hyperscale companies like Alphabet, Amazon, and Microsoft can finance the required power infrastructure.
- AI data centers have concentrated, constant, and non-negotiable electricity demands.
- President Trump proposed an emergency power auction for 15-year electricity contracts for data centers.
- If demonized, AI companies may build off-grid power systems, leading to severe consequences for regional grids.
- Off-grid data centers would shift fixed electricity costs to households and small businesses, decreasing tax revenues and hindering investment.
- The US must choose to embrace AI data centers and build the necessary electricity system or risk undermining its economic future.
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