Chapel Hill (United States) (AFP) – America's top tech bosses, from Nvidia executive Jensen Huang to OpenAI executive Sam Altman, urged G20 ministers on Wednesday to embrace artificial intelligence (AI) and build the data centers needed to make it work.

Published on: 03/09/2026 - 03:25

They were speaking on the second day of a G20 meeting in the United States, in North Carolina, where the Trump administration brought them together with other industry figures to present their vision to ministers from the world's top twenty economies.

“At the end of the day, what every country will have to recognize is that AI is infrastructure, just like water, roads, electricity, internet,” Jensen Huang said. “Each country must build infrastructure to be able to support its own economy.”

Nvidia, propelled by the generative AI frenzy to become the world's largest market capitalization, manufactures the graphics processors (GPUs) essential for training models.

Data centers have become a hot topic in the United States, where a majority of Americans now oppose their construction, according to polls, against a backdrop of rising electricity bills.

A sign of these concerns, 100 to 200 demonstrators opposed to the accelerated development of AI displayed banners on the campus of the University of North Carolina, where the meeting was held.

“The idea that all jobs are going to be eliminated is simply absurd,” said Jensen Huang. “Tasks will be automated, but the reason for our jobs remains.”

Countries whose leaders “talk about technology with fear, with uncertainty” will suffer, he warned: “The worst scenario is not taking advantage of it, being left behind.”

“The concern is justified”

Sam Altman was less insistent on data centers: "Some of you will choose to build them, others to rent them from third parties because you don't want them in your country. All that suits me very well."

The adoption of AI, on the other hand, is not optional in the eyes of the boss of OpenAI, who compared a country refusing this technology to one which would have refused electricity a century ago: "It is not negotiable. You have to use it. The value for a country is too important to ignore."

On the other hand, he adopted a more alarmist tone on the risks: "Concern is justified" and "it is through concern that we anticipate problems", he declared, drawing a parallel with the fire-fighting standards born after the destruction of large cities.

He also warned against a concentration of AI wealth, ensuring that OpenAI did not want to be the only company in the sector or “suck up all the value”.

“Goldilocks” moment

Ministers were more circumspect. No one disputes the opportunity described by manufacturers, British Minister for Science, Innovation and Investment Chris McDonald told AFP, "but those who run businesses do not have the same responsibilities as those who run countries."

London intends to both lead the acceleration of AI and gain public trust: “There is no need to choose between the protection of intellectual property and AI, or between economic growth and the rise of AI. We must find the balance point.”

"The porridge should be neither too hot nor too cold. It should be just right, and it's a matter of judgment," he summarized, summoning the image of the famous tale "Goldilocks and the Three Bears."

The United Kingdom is not experiencing the revolt targeting American projects, but there is no guarantee that it will last, warned the minister, citing past resistance to hydrogen and hydraulic fracturing: "We must ensure that we take the populations on board with us. It is not a question of being a technology evangelist, but of being practical, pragmatic."

© 2026 AFP

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