AI Leaders Urge U.S. to Expand Energy and Data Access for AI Growth

Top U.S. tech leaders, including Microsoft, OpenAI, and AMD, are urging Congress to modernize energy infrastructure and expand access to government data to support the growing demands of artificial intelligence. In written testimony for a Senate Commerce Committee hearing on “Winning the AI Race,” Microsoft President Brad Smith emphasized that outdated infrastructure is hindering the nation’s ability to meet rising electricity needs driven by AI, reshoring, and electrification. He also advocated for opening federal data sets to boost AI training, noting that the U.S. government is a largely untapped source of high-quality data.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman stressed the exponential growth in demand for AI, which will require massive increases in chips, data, energy, and supercomputing power. “We want to build a brain for the world and make it easy to use, with safeguards to prevent harm,” Altman stated.

CoreWeave CEO Michael Intrator highlighted the energy intensity of AI workloads, referencing a U.S. Energy Department estimate that data centers could consume up to 12% of the nation's electricity by 2028, up from 4.4% in 2023. He called for faster permitting for new power generation and transmission to meet demand.

AMD CEO Lisa Su pointed out the need to rapidly build AI data centers powered by clean, reliable energy and emphasized bringing AI to everyday devices. “AI should be as accessible and dependable as electricity,” Su said.

As AI adoption surges, industry leaders agree that federal policy must keep pace by enabling faster infrastructure development and unlocking data essential for innovation. Without these changes, they warn, the U.S. risks falling behind in the global AI race.