NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang: "We're going to build NVIDIA's technology, the next generation of that, all here in the United States. Without the President's leadership, his policies, his support, and very importantly his strong encouragement — manufacturing in the United States wouldn't have accelerated to this pace."
From Donald Trump Truth Social 05/01/25 10:05 AM
I am so sorry that the U.S. is letting down our friends and allies. Broad tariffs, implemented not just against adversaries but also steadfast allies, will damage the livelihoods of billions of people, create inflation, make the world more fragmented, and leave the U.S. and the world poorer. AI isn’t the solution to everything, but even amidst this challenging environment, I hope our community can hold together, keep building friendships across borders, keep sharing ideas, and keep supporting each other.
Much has been written about why high, widespread taxes on imports are harmful. In this letter, I’d like to focus on its possible effects on AI. One silver lining of the new tariffs is that they focus on physical imports, rather than digital goods and services, including intellectual property (IP) such as AI research inventions and software. IP is difficult to tax, because each piece of IP is unique and thus hard to value, and it moves across borders with little friction via the internet. Many international AI teams collaborate across borders and timezones, and software, including specifically open source software, is an important mechanism for sharing ideas. I hope that this free flow of ideas remains unhampered, even if the flow of physical goods is.
However, AI relies on hardware, and tariffs will slow down AI progress by restricting access to it. Even though a last-minute exception was made for semiconductors, taxing imports of solar panels, wind turbines, and other power-generation and -distribution equipment will diminish the ability to provide power to U.S. data centers. Taxing imports of servers, cooling hardware, networking hardware, and the like will also make it more expensive to build data centers. And taxing consumer electronics, like laptops and phones, will make it harder for citizens to learn and use AI.
With regard to data-center buildouts, another silver lining is that, with the rise of generative AI, data gravity has decreased because compute processing costs are much greater than transmission costs, meaning it’s more feasible to place data centers anywhere in the world rather than only in close proximity to end-users. Even though many places do not have enough trained technicians to build and operate data centers, I expect tariffs will encourage data centers to be built around the world, creating more job opportunities globally.
Finally, tariffs will create increased pressure for domestic manufacturing, which might create very mild tailwinds for robotics and industrial automation. As U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance pointed out in 2017, the U.S. should focus on automation (and education) rather than on tariffs. But the U.S. does not have the personnel — or know-how, or supply chain — to manufacture many of the goods that it currently counts on allies to make. Robotics can be helpful for addressing a small part of this large set of challenges. Generative AI’s rate of progress in robotics is also significantly slower than in processing text, visual data, audio, and reasoning. So while the tariffs could create tailwinds for AI-enabled robotics, I expect this effect to be small.
My 4-year-old son had been complaining for a couple of weeks that his shoes were a tight fit — he was proud that he’s growing! So last Sunday, we went shoe shopping. His new shoes cost $25, and while checking out, I paused and reflected on how lucky I am to be able to afford them. But I also thought about the many families living paycheck-to-paycheck, and for whom tariffs leading to shoes at $40 a pair would mean they let their kids wear ill-fitting shoes longer. I also thought about people I’ve met in clothing manufacturing plants in Asia and Latin America, for whom reduced demand would mean less work and less money to take home to their own kids.
I don’t know what will happen next with the U.S. tariffs, and plenty of international trade will happen with or without U.S. involvement. I hope we can return to a world of vibrant global trade with strong, rules-based, U.S. participation. Until then, let’s all of us in AI keep nurturing our international friendships, keep up the digital flow of ideas — including specifically open source software — and keep supporting each other. Let’s all do what we can to keep the world as connected as we are able.
[I had written this letter before the 90 day pause on the tariffs, but am sharing this here since many of the points are still relevant depends on what happens next.]
Original text: https://t.co/fNyTqzABWy
🇨🇳 From fear to love, an Australian teacher's journey of discovery in China
#Xinhua News recently captured a glimpse of my life here in China, where I’ve found not just a place to live, but a true home. Moving from the #UK, spending years in #Australia, to settling in China with my wife and daughter, this journey has been transformative.
The video reflects on my first visit in 2015 and the drastic differences between media narratives and reality. Western media often paints China in a negative light, but my experience tells a very different story. The people here are accommodating, polite and welcoming. The quality of life, the rapid technological advancements and the opportunities for my family have exceeded anything I could have imagined.
#China is leading globally in technology, electric vehicles (#EV), battery innovation and scientific patents. The sheer convenience of life here, from lightning-fast deliveries to access to cutting-edge tech, is unrivalled. It’s a place where I feel safer, where education options for my daughter are excellent and where the future feels bright.
Granted, China isn’t perfect, no country is, but it’s a nation that recognises its areas for improvement and takes meaningful steps to address them.
I am incredibly grateful to @XHNews for the chance to meet with them and see my feelings portrayed in this wonderful video. This video was the result of my article titled: “China Unveiled: How Moving East Shattered My Western Illusions”, which was published on Pearls and Irritations Journal. It was a marvellous experience to have my writing recognised and transformed into a visual story. Thank you!
I urge others not to blindly believe what they hear in Western #media, because after experiencing it and meeting others from across this nation doing the same, it most certainly isn't the nation many believe it to be.
Come experience #China yourself. Like me, you might just find a place that feels like home.
https://t.co/C5SFNDZjpD via @YouTube