Nvidia’s boss likens the AI race to the cold war and the Manhattan project
In an interview on the popular Joe Rogan podcast this week, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang spoke about a broad range of topics, from the direction of AI and its potential national security impact to the growing competition among major technology companies.
One interesting point in the talk was Huang’s comment on how AI will shape society or what effects it might have on global power dynamics. He drew comparisons between today’s AI competition, the Cold War, and the Manhattan Project. He noted that throughout history, major technological breakthroughs have consistently reshaped global influence, whether through innovations in information, energy, or military technology.
When Rogan brought up Elon Musk’s claim that AI poses a 20% risk of wiping out humanity, Huang didn’t take a definitive stance on that estimate. Still, he made it clear he doesn’t subscribe to the popular narratives predicting an AI-driven collapse. In his view, any transition to a future powered by AI would be far less chaotic than many dramatic forecasts suggest.
The conversation also covered the enormous energy demands of AI data centers and the potential solutions being explored. Reports indicate that Google is considering solar-powered AI infrastructure in space. At the same time, Huang believes leading AI companies will likely build their own nuclear power plants within the next 7 years to meet escalating energy requirements.
In a separate interview with Axios, Huang described Nvidia as the only major technology company whose entire focus remains on building technology itself, unlike other US giants that branch out into advertising, social platforms, and content distribution.
