On Wednesday, top US tech executives, including NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang and OpenAI's Sam Altman, pushed back against hesitancy by urging finance ministers from the G20 nations to adopt artificial intelligence and invest in the data centers that power it. The second day of the G20 meeting, held in North Carolina, featured a gathering of industry leaders convened by the Trump administration to present their vision before economic chiefs from the world's largest economies.

Speaking directly to the ministers, Huang stressed that AI is not a luxury but a fundamental building block for any economy. "At the end of the day, every country must recognize that artificial intelligence is infrastructure, just like water, roads, electricity, and the internet," he said, adding that each nation needs to build these facilities to support its own domestic economic growth. As the company at the heart of the generative AI boom, NVIDIA has ridden this wave to become the world's most valuable listed company, with its graphics processors serving as the core hardware for training AI models in new data centers globally. Huang described these facilities as providers of "digital intelligence and computing power" that can support a nation's researchers, students, industries, and startups.

However, data centers have become a politically charged issue in the US, with many communities pushing back against their construction due to fears of rising electricity costs. Huang also dismissed concerns that AI would destroy jobs, calling the idea that all positions would be eliminated "complete nonsense." Instead, he argued that roles would be redefined, not erased. "Specific tasks will be automated, but the value and meaning of human work will remain," he stated. The meeting, held on the campus of the University of North Carolina, drew a protest of between 100 and 200 people worried about the rapid pace of AI development, reflecting broader public anxieties. For governments overly focused on the risks, Huang offered a stark warning: "The worst outcome is failing to seize this technology and getting left behind by the times," adding that nations whose leaders view AI "with fear and suspicion" will suffer.

The conversation, moderated by US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who called Huang "a national treasure," was followed by a separate panel where Altman took a slightly more measured stance on the question of building sovereign data centers. "Some countries will choose to build their own data centers, while others will prefer not to have them domestically and instead rent computing power from others. I believe both options are viable," the OpenAI chief said. Yet he was unequivocal that adopting AI is not optional, comparing nations that spurn the technology to those that rejected electricity a century ago. "There is no room for negotiation on this; countries must embrace AI. The value it brings to a nation is too great to ignore," he insisted.

On risk, Altman conveyed a more cautionary note than Huang. "Having concerns is reasonable; concern helps us anticipate potential problems," he said, drawing an analogy to how great city fires led to the creation of fire safety systems. He also flagged the risk of wealth concentration, stating that OpenAI does not wish to be a dominant player in the industry or to "seize all the value."

In a separate session, UK Technology Secretary Chris McDonald acknowledged that while no one disputes the opportunities identified by business leaders, "the responsibilities of business operators and state governors are vastly different." He said the UK is simultaneously pursuing AI advancement and maintaining public trust, warning that neglecting either side will cause problems. "It is not a choice between protecting intellectual property on the one hand and AI development, economic growth, and industry expansion on the other. We must find the ideal balance that serves both," he added, likening the challenge to a "Goldilocks moment" where the porridge must be neither too hot nor too cold. McDonald noted that the UK has not yet seen the large-scale opposition to data center projects that exists in the US, but cautioned against assuming the status quo will persist, citing public resistance to hydrogen projects and fracking as precedents. "We must be very careful and win the understanding and support of the community," he said. "This isn't about being a lobbyist for technology; it's about being pragmatic and down-to-earth."