Opinion - A false choice is threatening America's lead on AI

Yahoo

2 days ago

Countries that build the most AI infrastructure today will reap the greatest rewards in the coming Intelligence Age.
Yet debates about AI investment often wrongly frame it as a binary decision: Build at home or fund projects abroad. That's a false distinction and a losing strategy. To ensure democratic values shape the future of artificial intelligence, countries need to invest in themselves — and in American AI infrastructure.
As my boss, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, wrote last summer, only the U.S. and China have the resources and capacity to shape the future trajectory of AI and determine whether it advances in ways that protect freedom, dignity and human agency or whether it becomes a tool of surveillance and repression.
Ensuring that democratic values shape the future of AI is the most urgent challenge of our time, and we need to seize this moment and think big, act big and build big — both here and abroad — to ensure that it prevails over authoritarian AI in the competition over the technology's future.
The world is not divided neatly into allies and adversaries. Many countries are navigating complex choices as they evaluate what kind of AI systems — and what kinds of values — they wish to adopt. Supporting these nations is not just about competition. It is about offering a meaningful alternative: a version of AI development that upholds individual rights, resists central control and aligns with the long-standing principles of transparency and fairness embedded in the international system. That system isn't perfect, but reforming it from within is preferable to replacing it with one that lacks basic democratic protections.
If the U.S. doesn't engage with countries looking to build AI, autocrats will step in to fill that void — and core freedoms may fall by the wayside. That's why we at OpenAI have launched the Stargate Project, which will invest $500 billion in new AI infrastructure in America. And it's the thinking behind our newest initiative, OpenAI for Countries, which is designed to help U.S. friends and allies build their own AI infrastructure on democratic rails, not on the authoritarian version of the technology.
You can see what this vision looks like in practice in our partnership with the United Arab Emirates, the first we've struck in the OpenAI for Countries initiative. The partnership includes dual investments: a 1 gigawatt data center complex in Abu Dhabi, with 200 megawatts expected to go live in 2026, as well as United Arab Emirates investment into Stargate infrastructure in the U.S., which will help create jobs and spur economic opportunity across the country.
This builds on the U.S.-UAE AI Acceleration Partnership announced during President Trump's recent visit. As the White House has noted, the UAE has committed to invest in, build or finance U.S. data centers that are at least as large and powerful as those in the UAE. This capital will help fulfill OpenAI's commitment to build more AI infrastructure in the U.S. than anywhere else in the world, because we believe it will establish the necessary foundation for us to export the building blocks of democratic AI everywhere.
As part of this effort, the UAE — a close American ally and leader in the global push to develop renewable, economically viable sources of energy — will become the first country in the world to enable ChatGPT nationwide, giving people across the country the ability to access OpenAI's technology.
But exporting democratic AI requires more than infrastructure. It requires policy: smart export controls that balance innovation and safety, while aligning nations around rights like free expression and safeguards against surveillance.
We're working closely with American officials to ensure our international partnerships meet the highest standards of security and compliance. We've also proposed a tiered framework for access to cutting-edge models.
Nations committed to democratic AI principles should receive deep technical collaboration and access to advanced models. 'Swing-state' countries that show progress on safeguarding intellectual property could become eligible for inclusion provided they are adding more powerful safeguards against technology transfer. Authoritarian regimes would be excluded.
Moving quickly and creatively will also enshrine core principles like freedom of expression, human dignity, competitive markets and transparency. It will ensure that people — not governments — have the ability to direct and shape how they use AI in their lives. And it will win over the 'swing-state' nations that are considering which version of AI to embrace.
The U.S. has historically used commercial diplomacy to open markets, secure alliances and extend American values through exports ranging from agricultural technology and medical devices to aerospace systems and communications infrastructure. AI is the next frontier. With a coordinated approach, the U.S. can turn AI into a tool for strengthening global partnerships and driving shared growth.
Ultimately, the greatest challenge to democratic AI isn't autocratic governments abroad but domestic inertia here at home. Red tape slows energy projects. Bureaucracy holds back chip production. Data policy stifles innovation.
Countries under centralized control can move much more quickly to build new AI infrastructure. China approved the construction of 10 new nuclear reactors last year alone, with 10 more coming online this year.
Stargate is one way forward. I recently visited our first site in Abilene, Texas, where thousands of workers are building the largest AI training center in the country. We've heard from other countries that want to build Stargates of their own to ensure their people can benefit from AI's transformative power. OpenAI for Countries is how we help make that happen.
AI has brought the world to a historic crossroads. One path expands access to AI in ways that reflect democratic values and protect fundamental rights. The other leads to a future shaped by governments that reject those principles. This is the time to act — by investing boldly at home and working with partners abroad to build a foundation of democratic AI that empowers people and expands opportunity.
Chris Lehane is OpenAI's head of global affairs.
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