The company announced a fresh set of commitments on Thursday, November 5, following growing public opposition to the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure in the US. OpenAI has reaffirmed its promise to pay the full cost of electricity used by its data centres.
Lehane said the latest commitments build on several initiatives the company had already announced to address concerns around data centre development. OpenAI has repeatedly promised this year to protect electricity consumers from higher costs and invest in local communities.
Lehane said OpenAI had been working on the policy blueprint since August. During this period, he also held discussions with dozens of lawmakers and political candidates to explain the company’s approach and seek support for its proposals, according to CNBC.
Along with these promises, OpenAI has released a policy blueprint asking lawmakers to introduce similar rules. The company wants policymakers to turn these commitments into laws so that other companies building data centres also follow similar standards. The announcement came two days after voters across the US rejected several proposals supporting data centre development. The company has promised to involve local communities in the planning process and listen to their concerns before moving ahead with projects. This means the company will not ask government officials to sign agreements that prevent them from sharing information about its data centre projects.
The election results showed growing resistance to AI data centres, with voters raising concerns about their impact on local communities, electricity bills and the environment, according to CNBC. OpenAI said it will seek public feedback before building data centres that it owns and operates. OpenAI also said it will not use non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) with public officials.
