OpenAI ‘Blueprint’ Calls on US to ‘Act Big’ on AI

OpenAI has issued what it calls its “economic blueprint” for artificial intelligence (AI).

The document, published Monday (Jan. 13), includes the tech company’s argument for how and why the U.S. must “win on AI.”

“Today, while some countries sideline AI and its economic potential, the U.S. government can pave the road for its AI industry to continue the country’s global leadership in innovation while protecting national security,” Chris Lehane, OpenAI’s vice president of global affairs, wrote in a foreword to the document.

Lehane likened the situation to the invention of the automobile. Cars were invented in Europe with some of the first autos introduced in the U.K. There, he argued, the industry’s growth was hamstrung by regulation.

“America, meanwhile, took a very different approach to the car, merging private-sector vision and innovation with public-sector enlightenment to unlock the new technology and its economic — and ultimately, with World War I looming — national security benefits,” he said.

It showed the country’s ability to “think big and act big,” Lehane said, arguing the same thing needs to happen with the AI sector.

PYMNTS wrote about the company’s proposal in November, noting its call for the creation of specialized economic zones where states can fast-track permits for AI facilities in exchange for offering computing power to public universities. A central focus is expanding energy capacity, especially in the Midwest and Southwest.

Lehane told CNBC at the time that the American AI industry will need about 50 gigawatts of power by 2030, more or less the output of 50 nuclear reactors. To address this demand, the company calls for leveraging the U.S. Navy nuclear expertise for civilian reactors and passing a “National Transmission Highway Act” to modernize power infrastructure.

Meanwhile, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in a recent Bloomberg interview that incoming President Trump has a “real opportunity” to improve on the CHIPS Act, designed to revitalize the U.S. semiconductor industry by attracting investment from the world’s top chipmakers.

“The thing I really deeply agree with [Trump] on is, it is wild how difficult it has become to build things in the United States,” Altman said in the interview.

“Power plants, data centers, any of that kind of stuff. I understand how bureaucratic stuff builds up, but it’s not helpful to the country in general. It’s particularly not helpful when you think about what needs to happen for the U.S. to lead AI. And the U.S. really needs to lead AI.”