The forum gathered about 20,000 participants – representatives of the government, the Pentagon, Big Tech, investors and research centers, techradar.com reported.
The main topic of the forum was the US race for technological leadership in the field of AI against the background of competition with China. The event’s organizer, the SCSP think tank, explicitly stated that the decisions of the next few years “will determine the future of geopolitics and the free world for decades to come.”
Washington has effectively equated AI with weapons and energy
Although the forum took place between May 7 and May 9, it is now that its analysis and outcomes are unfolding. Among the main topics of discussion are the planned U.S. military investments in AI. The Pentagon’s contracts with OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, Nvidia, Amazon Web Services, Oracle and SpaceX to work on military AI and data analytics systems were actively discussed in the background of the forum.
According to the US media, Washington plans to request about $54 billion for autonomous weapons alone, The Guardian reported.
An additional signal to the market was given by the US National Science Foundation (NSF). At the forum, the organization reminded that it already invests about $700 million annually in AI research, infrastructure and educational programs in all 50 states. Within the framework of the US national AI strategy, there are now 29 AI institutes uniting more than 500 universities.
Energy and computing power received special attention. Forum participants recognized that the next phase of AI development will not so much depend on algorithms as on access to GPUs, electricity, and data centers. Against this background, U.S. authorities and corporations are accelerating investments in infrastructure for AI models.
Another important trend is the rapid convergence of Big Tech and the defense sector. While a few years ago many IT companies avoided working directly with the military, now AI corporations are actively competing for government contracts and influence in Washington.
