Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk emphasized the need to expand artificial intelligence (AI) data center infrastructure and the power capacity required to support it during a G20 technology ministers meeting held Tuesday in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The event, organized by the White House, aimed to discuss the opportunities and challenges posed by AI, with a focus on promoting innovation while limiting regulatory constraints.
Speaking virtually, Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, highlighted the substantial labor demand driven by the construction of AI data centers in the United States. He noted that the industry requires "hundreds of thousands and maybe millions of jobs" in skilled trades but is currently facing a shortage of qualified workers. “What we’ve basically found at Meta is that we... can’t find the skilled tradespeople that we need to build the data centers... that we as one company are trying to build,” he said.
Musk, head of Tesla and SpaceX, underscored the critical challenge of electricity supply to power these data centers, warning of an imminent “crisis of power” that could hinder AI development. He stated that the United States faces a significant shortfall in electricity next year, which risks ceding an advantage to China in AI advancement. Musk also noted that his companies are actively developing their own power generation capacity to support these facilities.
These remarks come against a backdrop of increasing public resistance to AI data center construction in the U.S., fueled by concerns over rising electricity costs, noise pollution, and environmental impacts. Polls indicate that a majority of Americans currently oppose the expansion of such centers. President Donald Trump publicly criticized this opposition, describing detractors as “backwards and poor” in comments made a day prior to the meeting.
In a separate virtual address to the ministers, Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind, projected that achieving human-level AI would have a transformative effect on the global economy, potentially delivering an impact ten times greater than the Industrial Revolution. Hassabis emphasized the importance of pursuing AI advancements responsibly.
Musk further forecasted that AI has the potential to grow the global economy by 20 to 30 percent, translating to an annual economic boost of approximately $20 trillion to $30 trillion.
The United States holds the rotating presidency of the G20 this year and is hosting a series of ministerial meetings ahead of the leaders’ summit scheduled for December 14-15 at the Trump National Doral resort in Miami. The Chapel Hill session was organized by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Michael Kratsios and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Additional notable figures expected to participate include Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who are slated for in-person discussions with Lutnick on Wednesday.