Top executives from the AI industry, including Sam Altman of OpenAI, Ruth Porat from Google, and Dario Amodei of Anthropic, are set to meet with senior US officials at the White House on Thursday. This unprecedented meeting aims to address the significant energy demands posed by the rapid growth of artificial intelligence.

The gathering, which has not been previously reported, will be the first time senior White House officials and tech leaders discuss strategies to manage AI's substantial energy consumption. The White House plans to outline how public and private sectors can collaborate to sustain US leadership in AI while ensuring energy sustainability.

This initiative highlights the pressing challenges that the AI boom presents to both business leaders and government officials, particularly concerning the strain on America's aging power grid. The Biden administration is keen to transition away from fossil fuels, adding urgency to these discussions.

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, and other top officials from the Biden-Harris administration, along with representatives from Microsoft, are expected to attend. However, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are not scheduled to be present.

AI's rapid development has raised concerns about its energy consumption. According to the International Energy Agency, a single ChatGPT request uses about 10 times more electricity than a typical Google search. By 2026, the AI industry is expected to consume at least 10 times more energy than in 2023. Goldman Sachs projects a 160% increase in power demand from data centers by 2030 due to AI.

An OpenAI spokesperson confirmed that Altman will attend the meeting, focusing on how expanding America's AI infrastructure—power generation, data centers, and semiconductor manufacturing—can create jobs. In a recent op-ed, Altman emphasized the importance of maintaining US leadership in AI development.

Altman, who has invested in Exowatt, a startup aiming to reduce AI's carbon footprint through solar power, has a significant stake in this issue. Exowatt recently launched a system to generate and store clean energy for AI data centers.

White House spokesperson Robyn Patterson stated that President Biden and Vice President Harris are committed to ensuring that AI data centers are built in the US and that the technology is developed responsibly.

Other officials expected at the meeting include White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients, National Economic Adviser Lael Brainard, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, and top climate officials Ali Zaidi and John Podesta.

This meeting follows a July 2023 initiative by the Biden administration, urging leading AI companies to subject new AI systems to external testing before public release and to clearly label AI-generated content.

Sam Altman is also scheduled to appear on an ABC special about AI hosted by Oprah Winfrey, alongside former Microsoft CEO Bill Gates.