Tech insider: US tariffs could undermine its AI leadership

The US' aggressive trade and tariff policies risk undermining Silicon Valley's AI progress and eroding its competitive edge against China, warned Washington Post in a recent article Trump's trade war casts a shadow on America's AI boom.

The article noted that while President Donald Trump has vowed to make the US the "world capital" of artificial intelligence, his tariffs are set up to drive up the costs of building the data centers — critical infrastructure for developing and deploying AI.

Citing executives and experts in AI and data center construction, the article reported that Trump's tariffs will inflate expenses for constructing, equipping and operating the data centers that companies such as OpenAI, Google and Microsoft are racing to build.

Ironically, the article pointed out that Trump's steep tariffs on China — now as high as 145 percent — could ultimately benefit Beijing in the AI race. China remains a major supplier of data center components, many of which are still subject to US import taxes.

The soaring costs, coupled with unpredictable trade policies, have injected uncertainty into this industry built on shaping the future, the article wrote.

Some industry insiders fear that this instability could stifle the AI boom. "When the regulations change overnight by tweet, it's difficult to plan," said Andrew Ng, former head of Google's AI lab and co-founder of DeepLearning. "Unfortunately, this makes other geographies with more stable structures more attractive."