If Trump can prevent China from gaining access to the technology and energy needed to speed up its development of AI, maybe his more controversial moves are worth it.
Amidst the sturm und drang of President Donald Trump’s much publicized whirlwind tour of the Middle East, in which the forty-seventh president has simultaneously presided over the diminution of U.S. military power in the region but also the expansion of America’s geoeconomic standing there, many have failed to pick up on a key element of the president’s trip—the importance of artificial intelligence to the Persian Gulf nations’ future plans, and the room for cooperation between Gulf capitals and the United States.
The Tech Bros Hit Pay Dirt in the Gulf
Among the U.S. president’s coterie of advisers were leaders in the artificial intelligence, energy, and high finance sectors. These three elements cavorted with their counterparts in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
They were exposed to a dazzling high-tech sector in Saudi Arabia. The head of the U.S. chip firm NVIDIA met with his counterpart, the head of Saudi Arabia’s premier AI firm, HUMAIN; the two sides used Trump’s visit to announce the creation of 500-megawatt data center in the kingdom.
David Sacks, the White House’s “crypto czar,” also met with representatives of the Saudi government to discuss further partnerships between the U.S. tech sector and the Saudis. It is next expected that the American delegation will head over to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which has an impressive—and growing—indigenous tech sector, notably in the important arena of AI development.
In fact, in terms of AI development, UAE is considered third in terms of the world’s largest AI developers, behind only the United States and China.
The Implications of Trump’s Mideast Shift for the Tech War with China
For years, China has striven to end-run the tough chip export bans that the Trump administration imposed upon the People’s Republic of China as part of its tech war initiated during Trump’s first term.
To the credit of Trump’s much-maligned successor (and now predecessor), President Joe Biden, the chip bans were maintained on China. Those chip bans have significantly complicated China’s herculean efforts to displace the Americans as the world’s top AI developer. As a result, Beijing has long striven to circumvent those bans.
One way that Chinese tech firms had managed to outmaneuver the U.S. high-end chip bans was by accessing those high-end American chips via third countries such as Singapore. Beyond that, though, nations in the Middle East, particularly the UAE, were targets of this comprehensive Chinese program to absorb as many advanced Western chips as possible to continue their AI development projects. By further enmeshing America’s tech sector in what appear to be exclusive joint development deals, the Trump administration is closing a major gap in its thorough sanctions program that China has been exploiting since 2018.
Of course, one can only play keep-away for so long. Still, it’s another layer that hasn’t been pointed out by many in the press. It’s an important example of how the geopolitics of artificial intelligence, Trump’s trade war with China, and Trump’s overall reduction of America’s military engagement in the region are all merging into one story.
Beyond the joint development deals for AI projects, there are the related energy plays that are being concocted in the region. While the United States is sitting on an energy bonanza, a lack of infrastructure coupled with extensive government regulations means that shortcuts need to be made. Accordingly, it is actually easier for the United States to get energy development deals with places like Saudi Arabia or the UAE than to simply get new energy development projects going in the United States.
These proposed energy deals, though, are specifically related to AI.
What American AI Needs, Saudi Arabia and the UAE Offer
For AI to have any chance of meeting the very high goals of its designers, it will need two things: increased processing power, and a seemingly limitless amount of energy. There are but a few places from where AI development, therefore, can be done reliably.
One of those energy hotspots is the Middle East. Indeed, the fusion between the need for greater processing power and energy was a core impetus behind the NVIDIA-HUMAIN deal mentioned earlier.
Lastly, there was the presence of people like Larry Fink, the grand poobah of global finance and head of the deeply controversial, yet ever-present, Blackrock.
Without the input of global finance, the great race for AI dominance—and all its attendant industries—would be impossible.
So there is method to the apparent madness of Trump’s moves in the Mideast. Yes, his recent decisions in the region are maddening in some cases—notably in his cozying up with Qatar.
And others, such as the acceptance that the United States is no longer the dominant power in the Mideast, are both painful and disappointing, if only because the facts behind them are difficult to swallow.
On the other hand, though, if Trump can box out China from gaining access to the technology and energy needed to speed up their own development of AI, then maybe it’s all worth it.
About the Author: Brandon J. Weichert
Brandon J. Weichert, a Senior National Security Editor at The National Interest as well as a contributor at Popular Mechanics, who consults regularly with various government institutions and private organizations on geopolitical issues. Weichert’s writings have appeared in multiple publications, including the Washington Times, National Review, The American Spectator, MSN, the Asia Times, and countless others. His books include Winning Space: How America Remains a Superpower, Biohacked: China’s Race to Control Life, and The Shadow War: Iran’s Quest for Supremacy. His newest book, A Disaster of Our Own Making: How the West Lost Ukraine is available for purchase wherever books are sold. He can be followed via Twitter @WeTheBrandon.
Image: Shutterstock / Funny Solution Studio.
