AUSTIN, Texas — It is what President Donald Trump calls the “largest AI infrastructure project” in history, which will create more than 100,000 jobs. The leaders of Softbank, Open AI and Oracle are coming together to announce the formation of Stargate.
“Stargate will be building the physical and virtual infrastructure to power the next generation of advancements in AI. And this will include the construction of colossal data centers,” President Trump said.
Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison said the first of the data centers are under construction in Abilene. There are 10 buildings currently being built, which will expand to 20 locations beyond Abilene.
Open AI CEO Sam Altman believes diseases can get cured at an unprecedented rate as this technology progresses. Oracle Corporation Chairman Larry Ellison said a cancer vaccine is in the works.
“So imagine early cancer detection, the development of a cancer vaccine for your particular cancer aimed at you, and have that vaccine available in 48 hours. This is the promise of AI and the promise of the future,” Ellison said.
University of Texas at Austin computer science professor Peter Stone is hopeful experts will find more ways to use this advanced technology.
“There’s also a lot of excitement around the possibilities of advanced artificial intelligence with regards to health care, with regards to improved transportation, energy production and use,” Stone said.
Kishore Gawande, a business professor at UT Austin said this announcement shows Texas is leading the competition.
“A lot of investment is going to happen in this economy. Of course, it benefits those who are directly in the sector. But ultimately, you know, five, six, seven, 10 years down the road, it’s going to benefit everyone,” Gawande said.
As researchers approach uncharted territory, Stone believes they need to proceed with caution and with care.
“It’s not going to be for free that everything turns out roses. And so yeah, cautious optimistic is what I’d say,” Stone said.