President Donald Trump on Wednesday called artificial intelligence “maybe bigger than the internet” and pushed for light-touch rules that he says won’t slow the sector’s growth — comments delivered at a White House event attended by crypto executives and financial regulators ahead of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s first Innovation Advisory Committee meeting. Trump framed AI as a strategic priority in the U.S. competition with China, saying the technology will likely come up when Chinese President Xi Jinping visits on Sept. 24. “We want to regulate, but we want to have regulation where they can continue to lead,” he said. “That regulation is not going to stifle a very important industry. I think maybe bigger than the internet, bigger than anything anyone’s seen.” A central theme of the administration’s approach is rapid infrastructure buildout: Trump defended a surge in data center construction and the development of new power plants to supply them, arguing the existing electrical grid is “old and tired and weak” and that many companies are installing fresh generation capacity. “They’re actually giving the excess electricity into the grid. We’re not using the power from the grid—we’re using brand‑new power,” he said. In March, major tech and AI firms — Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle and xAI — signed the White House’s Ratepayer Protection Pledge, agreeing to pay for new electricity generation and related infrastructure needed for their data centers rather than shifting costs to utilities and consumers. Trump urged state and local leaders to welcome AI plants and data centers, highlighting construction jobs, tax revenue and investment potential: “If I were the mayor of a town or the governor of a state, and I had a chance to get a big plant, an AI plant or a data center, I would absolutely want it,” he said. But the expansion is drawing pushback. Environmental and community concerns about electricity demand, water use and other local impacts have spurred protests and policy responses: - At least 37 people have been arrested at data center protests so far this year. - Lawmakers in 15 states have considered moratoriums on data center construction. - In Pennsylvania, Governor Josh Shapiro signed an executive order imposing new requirements on large data centers to make developers cover grid-related costs. - Banks and asset managers are increasingly weighing community opposition when financing projects; at least 75 data centers — with a combined valuation of roughly $130 billion — faced local opposition in Q1 2026. For the crypto industry, the White House gathering underscored the overlap between AI infrastructure and crypto concerns. Both sectors compete for power, real estate and public acceptance; policies that speed AI infrastructure could reshape power markets and local permitting practices that also affect mining and data services. Trump acknowledged the industry “could use a little public relations help,” signaling the administration sees a communications as well as regulatory challenge. Overall, the administration’s message is clear: accelerate infrastructure to keep the U.S. ahead of China, craft regulation that preserves innovation, and lean on private industry commitments to limit ratepayer impacts — even as local resistance and environmental questions continue to mount. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news