Trump Says Communities Hosting AI Data Centers Could Get a ‘Dividend' From Teacher Bonuses to Payments: 'People are Going to Benefit Directly'
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President Donald Trumpstated that American communities hosting data centers would get a "dividend," which could manifest in various ways.
While speaking to reporters alongside tech CEOs on Tuesday, Trump underscored the considerable financial impact of data centers on local communities, asserting that "now people are going to benefit directly," such as teacher bonuses or "dividends" to residents.
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"You could call it a dividend because a dividend sounds right, they are going to greatly benefit by what's happened," Trump said.
Trump said the criticism of data centers began with what he called a "false narrative," largely promoted by Democrats, that data centers are harmful.
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Trump Likens Data Centers to Oil
This proposal follows Trump's previous remarks highlighting the potential of data centers to surpass the oil industry in terms of economic significance. In August, Trump described data centers as "tremendously important" for the economy and criticized opposition to their development.
As data centers raise community worries about surging electricity demand, Trump argued that they can actually benefit local areas if built in the right locations, bringing jobs, revenue, and lower taxes. His key point is that new data centers are being required to generate their own power rather than draw from the existing grid, a setup he says could eventually help bring down electricity costs.
Trump's remarks came as the White House expanded its AI data center Ratepayer Protection Pledge to nearly 200 more participants, requiring developers to cover power infrastructure costs.
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Tech Giants Sign White House AI Pact
On Tuesday, Trump unveiled a newly inked voluntary AI safety pact after hosting top technology executives at the White House. The White House Accord on Super Intelligence calls for independent audits, stronger internal controls, and board-level oversight of advanced AI systems.
Trump called the pact "morally binding" and said AI companies should be responsible for policing their own development.
The agreement was signed by the President and Alphabet Inc.CEO Sundar Pichai, AnthropicCEO Dario Amodei, Meta Platforms, Inc.CEO Mark Zuckerberg, OpenAIpresident Greg Brockman, Space Exploration Technologies Corp.xAI CEO Elon Muskand Nvidia Corp.CEO Jensen Huang.
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