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Otto von Bismarck once said: “God has a special providence for fools, drunkards and the United States of America. » For much of our history, the Iron Chancellor was right about the third part. Abundant resources, an entrepreneurial spirit, and a system that rewards innovation propelled us to global pre-eminence in the 20th century.
We invented the Internet age, gave birth to the world’s most valuable technology giants, and are now leading the artificial intelligence revolution.
The boom in artificial intelligence promises to be more eventful than the dawn of the Internet. This will lead to a better quality of life for everyone in the first country to dominate AI. AI is already being leveraged for cancer detection and to develop autonomous vehicles that will reduce road deaths.
THE NEW ARMS RACE IS FOR IT – AND AMERICA CANNOT AFFORD TO FALL BEHIND
The AI boom is defining our economy, and we are now home to trillions of dollars in American AI innovation. America attracts 60% of global investment in AI infrastructure and is home to the lion’s share of cutting-edge models that will help solve the problems of all Americans.
A car drives past a Digital Realty Data Center building in Ashburn, Virginia, March 17, 2025. (Reuters/Leah Millis)
The growth of artificial intelligence is also the main driver of growth in our economy. A Harvard economist found that without data centers, GDP growth would have been just 0.1% in the first half of the year.
As Vanguard’s chief economist recently pointed out, without this boom, “we would have seen significantly lower growth numbers.” AI infrastructure already supports more than 600,000 direct jobs – nearly 1.5 times the employment of our 16 automakers combined – and is expected to power our economy for decades to come.
But advantage is not destiny. If we pause, China will quickly overtake us and we will end up importing, not exporting, the technology of the future. Actually, a new report in the Wall Street Journal highlighted how the AI race against China is as “consequential” as the Cold War, as the technology has the “potential to influence large swathes of the world’s population.”
AMERICA’S SECRET WEAPON TO CRUSH CHINA IN THE GLOBAL AI RACE
This is why we are both proud to launch the AI Infrastructure Coalition (CNA) to ensure America finishes first.
Over the next five years, global spending on AI infrastructure will amount to $5 trillion, generating $15.7 trillion in economic value over the following decade. Victory in the race to AI means millions of good-paying jobs, relocated manufacturing, and technology exports that ensure our prosperity. Defeat means ceding everything to China, which would become the undisputed economic and military superpower.
China is closing the gap at breakneck speed. It holds nearly 75% of the world’s AI patents and its models reach 80 to 90% of American capabilities at significantly lower costs. Chinese cloud providers are planning a 65% increase in capital spending in 2025, supported by subsidies that will make energy essentially free for their companies.
RAPID RISE IN AI IMPOSES NEW EMERGENCY ON CONGRESS TO UNLEASH AMERICAN ENERGY
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang bluntly warns, “China will win the AI race” if we don’t act. If Beijing dominates, it will control autonomous weapons, cyberwarfare and global supply chains. U.S. data – from health records to financial details – would flow through Chinese systems, exposing citizens to surveillance, manipulation and breaches.
As President Donald Trump has said, advances in AI could “reshape the global balance of power.” Former President Joe Biden also agreed: “We will not let America be left behind in the technology that will define the future.” They both understand that there is no scenario in which allowing China to export the robots and models that will power tomorrow’s world will end well.
President Donald Trump and Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman stand for a photo with Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and other participants at the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum at the Kennedy Center November 19, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Instead of understanding what is at stake in this AI race, many politicians and experts resort to scaremongering about AI. A poll now shows that 83% of Chinese citizens view AI as beneficial, compared to just 39% optimistic in the United States.
THE ROAD TO PROSPERITY WILL BE OPENED BY AUTONOMOUS TRUCKING
Unfortunately, as is often the case, the dominant narratives disseminated in the press and on social media are often simplistic and inaccurate. We’re told that data centers are the reason many Americans are facing rising utility costs. Maine, with a negligible number of data centers, saw the largest year-over-year increases; Virginia, home to the most, has not done so.
Goldman Sachs recently released an analysis of energy prices across the country and found that electricity price increases were more pronounced in states that have withdrawn reliable energy sources and have onerous regulations. The company noted that states with the lowest price inflation had “robust availability of local resources (coal/wind/gas)” that “helped keep electricity rates low with abundant supply.”
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Water consumption? Minimal and often recycled – less than American golf courses. Fears of job loss? A recycled catastrophic message. Jeremy Rifkin’s 1995 prophecy of Internet-induced mass unemployment has been shown to be laughably false, as has the current catastrophe. The nature of the AI infrastructure stack, from energy companies to data centers to hyperscalers like Google and Microsoft, means that growth in the sector will require hiring systems engineers, electricians, facilities managers, and more. Google has already announced that it will support an effort to train 100,000 new electricians.
As President Donald Trump has said, advances in AI could “reshape the global balance of power.”
But if the United States wants to continue to be the leading country in AI, we need common-sense licensing reform. America needs to expand its energy infrastructure and semiconductor manufacturing plants. Yet one in five AI projects dies in hell, putting $64 billion in investments at risk. Since the start of 2024, China has added 429 gigawatts to its energy capacity; we managed to add 68 gigawatts.
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Likewise, federal policymakers must tackle the confusing patchwork of AI laws across the country with common-sense legislation to preempt state laws. We need clear safeguards that protect people while allowing builders to build. The goal is simple: unleash American ingenuity, not immobilize it.
America can and must win the AI race. Let’s build the future here, fuel it with abundant energy, train our people to thrive in it, and ensure the dividends return to the American people.
Garret Graves served as Congressman from Louisiana’s 5th Congressional District from 2015 to 2025 and as co-chair of the AI Infrastructure Coalition.
