Microsoft and OpenAI push Congress to upgrade infrastructure to keep up with AI boom

Microsoft and OpenAI executives are preparing to urge Congress to address infrastructure bottlenecks and expand data access to support the growing demands of artificial intelligence systems. Their testimony highlights the critical gap between America’s outdated power infrastructure and the escalating electricity requirements needed to fuel AI development, chip manufacturing, and broader electrification efforts across the economy.

The big picture: Microsoft President Brad Smith will tell lawmakers that America’s 50-year-old infrastructure cannot meet the increasing electricity demands driven by artificial intelligence development and other technological advancements.

Key details: Smith’s testimony to the Senate Commerce Committee will advocate for streamlining federal permitting processes to address AI energy needs.

• He will also push for opening more government data sets that could be used for AI training purposes.

What they’re saying: “America’s advanced economy relies on 50-year-old infrastructure that cannot meet the increasing electricity demands driven by AI, reshoring of manufacturing, and increased electrification,” Smith states in his prepared testimony.

Industry perspective: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman will echo similar concerns about infrastructure capacity in his testimony to the committee.

• “As AI systems become more capable, people will want to use them even more. Meeting that demand requires more chips, training data, energy, and supercomputers,” Altman’s testimony explains.

Why this matters: The testimony from two of the most influential AI industry leaders underscores growing concerns about whether existing U.S. infrastructure can support the exponential growth in computing power and energy requirements that advanced AI development demands.