OpenAI makes new data center commitments, AI policy recommendations

OpenAI Group PBC today made a set of commitments designed to ensure that its data centers benefit the communities where they’re built.

It also proposed that lawmakers make some of the commitments mandatory for artificial intelligence companies.

The move comes two days after Democrats won both the House and the Senate on a campaign backing data center construction curbs. Additionally, voters approved dozens of ballot measures designed to scale back or limit AI infrastructure projects.

OpenAI today reiterated a commitment it made in January to fully pay for the electricity and grid upgrades that its data centers require. That covers items such as the construction of new overhead power lines. Additionally, the company pledged to provide “financial assurances” that will protect other grid users from potential project cancellations and delays.

It will also take steps to reduce grid strain. In particular, it will scale back its data centers’ power draw at times when energy demand is particularly high. That approach, which is known as a flexible data center model, has also drawn the interest of other industry players as Nvidia Corp. and Google LLC.

Some data center builders sign non-disclosure agreements with local officials to keep construction details under wraps. OpenAI today pledged not to use NDAs. It will instead only seek “narrow protections covering legitimate security information, trade secrets, or proprietary or competitively sensitive information.”

OpenAI will publicly share construction plans and noise projections before construction of a new facility begins. Additionally, it will provide information about the jobs that each data center is expected to create. The goal is to help local unions and training providers prepare residents for the positions.

The company plans to tailor its commitments to each data center. It will publish the customized project terms in a document it calls a local compact. Once construction is underway, the company will provide annual updates and designate a local contact to field residents’ questions.

OpenAI hopes to codify some of the best practices that it published today into law. It released a policy paper that calls on lawmakers to limit data center developers’ use of NDAs and require them to cover their electricity costs. Furthermore, it argues that AI companies should be offered incentives to lower their power usage at times of peak grid stress.

Some of the best practices that the ChatGPT developer is prompting are already being adopted by other industry players. Google, for example, today pledged to fully cover the electricity costs of a new $17 billion data center that it plans to build in Wyoming. It will also finance related grid upgrades. Anthropic PBC made a similar commitment in February.

Photo: Unsplash