Trump’s $500 Billion AI Plan Leaves Europe in the Dust

[Social Media]

 

The United States has launched an ambitious $500 billion artificial intelligence initiative that threatens to overshadow European efforts and cement U.S. dominance in the AI race. On Tuesday, former President Donald Trump unveiled the monumental plan, which begins with the construction of a massive data center in Texas and aims to establish the infrastructure needed for long-term AI supremacy.  

 

The announcement has stunned European leaders and tech investors, many of whom see it as a stark reminder of the widening gap between Europe and the U.S. in technological innovation. “This is more than a wake-up call; this is a slap in our face,” said Christian Miele, general partner at venture capital firm Headline, which invests in French AI company Mistral.  

 

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has repeatedly expressed aspirations for the EU to lead in AI innovation. French President Emmanuel Macron is also planning to advocate for European AI dominance at an upcoming global AI summit. However, the sheer scale of the U.S. investment dwarfs European ambitions, highlighting a growing focus in Washington on countering China's influence in the field.  

 

Europe, which has already fallen behind in social media, cloud computing, and semiconductor production, now faces an uphill battle in AI development. In a single week, the U.S. has adopted a far more aggressive approach, including restricting the export of AI chips and scrapping earlier plans for AI regulation. This culminated in the launch of the $500 billion AI project, which one investor compared to the Manhattan Project—the program that developed nuclear weapons during World War II.  

 

While the European Union has outlined plans to support AI development, its efforts pale in comparison. The Commission recently allocated €1.5 billion, with half the funding coming from the EU budget, to support the development of AI-optimized supercomputers across seven sites. But as Holger Hoos, an AI professor at RWTH Aachen University, noted, “The EU’s investment is several orders of magnitude below what has just been announced in the U.S.”  

 

Venture capitalist Christian Miele echoed these concerns, stating that European policymakers have yet to grasp the strategic significance of AI. The EU’s fragmented financial markets and lack of Big Tech companies further compound the issue. Giorgos Verdi, a policy fellow at the European Council for Foreign Relations, observed that Europe lacks industry giants like OpenAI or Nvidia to attract private investment on the same scale. “We don’t have these Big Tech champions that the U.S. has; we don’t have this luxury of being able to work with them in order to mobilize private capital,” Verdi said.  

 

The energy crisis also hampers Europe’s ability to compete. Data centers required to train AI models consume enormous amounts of energy, and rising energy costs—exacerbated by the war in Ukraine—pose a significant challenge. Meanwhile, Trump’s administration has prioritized domestic energy production, declaring a “national energy emergency” to bolster oil and gas output. This stark contrast in energy policy underscores Europe’s vulnerability. “The kind of energy that is going to be needed in order to operate infrastructure on that scale is going to be insane,” said Miele.

 

Trump’s plan, dubbed the Stargate Project, will immediately allocate $100 billion in funding. It involves major private-sector players, including Japan’s SoftBank, AI pioneer OpenAI, and chipmakers Nvidia and Arm. Microsoft, through its Azure cloud services, will also play a key role.  

 

For Europe, the U.S.’s bold move is a sobering reality check. Despite efforts to catch up, the continent remains far from competing with the scale, funding, and infrastructure of its transatlantic counterpart. While the EU continues to promote AI innovation, the gap between Europe and the U.S. only seems to be widening.

 

Based on a report by Politco 2025-01-23

 

 

[Cryingdick]

Europe doesn't really have tech companies anyway. 

[thaibeachlovers]

I fear that the outcome of AI is not going to be very good for Joe Average, and even Jack Middle Class as AI can destroy almost every job that uses computers or a robot.

Unless very strong protections are put in place along with the project, I doubt if we even understand how far reaching AI on this scale is going to affect most of us.

 

Also, who is going to benefit from the new technology, average citizens or the 1 %?

 

This is really going where no man has gone before.

[Cryingdick]

4 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I fear that the outcome of AI is not going to be very good for Joe Average, and even Jack Middle Class as AI can destroy almost every job that uses computers or a robot.

Unless very strong protections are put in place along with the project, I doubt if we even understand how far reaching AI on this scale is going to affect most of us.

 

Also, who is going to benefit from the new technology, average citizens or the 1 %?

 

This is really going where no man has gone before.

It isn't going to work for a lot of people that think work brings dignity to their lives. Humans will have to evolve to a state of mind where the robots work for us and we do what we want. Many people will end up hurt in the mean time. I am not a big fan of UBI but it will have to become the norm at some point.

 

Not sure how to do it but let's say you replace a worker that earns $50K a year with a robot. That robot needs to be taxed for $50k a year. So the government get's it's tax and the worker gets his share. 

[Chomper Higgot]

2 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I fear that the outcome of AI is not going to be very good for Joe Average, and even Jack Middle Class as AI can destroy almost every job that uses computers or a robot.

Unless very strong protections are put in place along with the project, I doubt if we even understand how far reaching AI on this scale is going to affect most of us.

 

Also, who is going to benefit from the new technology, average citizens or the 1 %?

 

This is really going where no man has gone before.

It’s already hitting white collar jobs.

 

Recruiters specializing in numerous professions are already posting opportunities for ‘Subject Matter Experts’  to review and comment on AI generated solutions across a wide range of Professional Specializations.

 

An industry Contracts Lawyer I occasionally work with tells me he’s now ‘fine tuning’ AI drafted contracts that would normally have been written by teams of lawyers.

 
 

 

 

[Chomper Higgot]

The Space Karen isn’t impressed with Trump’s AI plans, though perhaps because he’s not getting the alleged $500Billion:

 

 

https://www.politico.eu/article/us-elon-musk-troll-donald-trump-500b-ai-plan/

[James105]

2 hours ago, Cryingdick said:

It isn't going to work for a lot of people that think work brings dignity to their lives. Humans will have to evolve to a state of mind where the robots work for us and we do what we want. Many people will end up hurt in the mean time. I am not a big fan of UBI but it will have to become the norm at some point.

 

Not sure how to do it but let's say you replace a worker that earns $50K a year with a robot. That robot needs to be taxed for $50k a year. So the government get's it's tax and the worker gets his share. 

 

If that robot is being taxed at 100% then it better have the right to vote.  No taxation without representation.   

[soalbundy]

2 hours ago, Cryingdick said:

It isn't going to work for a lot of people that think work brings dignity to their lives. Humans will have to evolve to a state of mind where the robots work for us and we do what we want. Many people will end up hurt in the mean time. I am not a big fan of UBI but it will have to become the norm at some point.

 

Not sure how to do it but let's say you replace a worker that earns $50K a year with a robot. That robot needs to be taxed for $50k a year. So the government get's it's tax and the worker gets his share. 

Increased leisure time for many who don't know how to occupy their time meaningfully as it is. This would bring about a motivation less population, a huge increase in drug taking and crime in general, this isn't a boon for mankind, people don't want to sit on their arse all day and have decisions made for them. It reminds me of experiments made with a population of rats given ideal living conditions with no challenges food and water in abundance, they died out.

[soalbundy]

15 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

The Space Karen isn’t impressed with Trump’s AI plans, though perhaps because he’s not getting the alleged $500Billion:

 

 

https://www.politico.eu/article/us-elon-musk-troll-donald-trump-500b-ai-plan/

Where's the money coming from, more debt?

[Chomper Higgot]

Just now, soalbundy said:

Where's the money coming from, more debt?

The point Musk made was, there is no money.

 

It’s smoke and mirrors.

[Callmeishmael]

Spending $500 billion to eliminate millions of jobs...  Welcome to the dystopian future!

[Denim]

5 hours ago, Social Media said:

the monumental plan, which begins with the construction of a massive data center in Texas and aims to establish the infrastructure needed for long-term AI supremacy.  

 

 

Stargate ??   Nah ............Skynet !!!    Might as well follow the script.

 

 

[Eric Loh]

6 minutes ago, Callmeishmael said:

Spending $500 billion to eliminate millions of jobs...  Welcome to the dystopian future!

It is to enrich his powerful special interest donors. Not for the millions needing jobs. 

[Eric Loh]

44 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

The point Musk made was, there is no money.

 

It’s smoke and mirrors.

Like the wall and Mexico will pay for it. His gullible supporters still buying this. 

[MalcolmB]

Probably not a good idea putting a six time bankrupt in charge of the nations budget.

 

He said he was going to pay the debt off last time he was in but increased it by an eye watering 7 trillion due to terrible mismanagement and incompetence.

 

If the USA was a company he would have bankrupted it also, but they just printed more money and caused a cost of living disaster instead.

[Chomper Higgot]

16 minutes ago, Eric Loh said:

Like the wall and Mexico will pay for it. His gullible supporters still buying this. 

They bought his crypto currency, so yes, if they’ve any money left.

[Walker88]

The convicted felon (CF) in the Oval Office is already a disaster, though the effects haven't become as apparent as they will be. And MAGAs, please don't whine about "nobody could have seen this", because every rational person knows the guy will ruin the economy, the environment, and American society. He is the epitome of incompetent, besides being willfully ignorant, vindictive, and a whining little baby.

 

---His choice to head the VA as well as the drunk wife beater (per 1st wife) he nominated to be SecDef both want to shutter the Veterans Administration (which I think has existed since 1790) and privatize it, because somebody can then make money off of veterans. Heaven forbid the nation that sent them into harm's way should care for them.  This resulted already in an order to lay off the 300,000 people who work VA hospitals and other services. Folks immediately complained, so the order was temporarily rescinded. Of course we all know the CF in the WH considers veterans "suckers and losers", so it's no surprise he couldn't care about their well being.

 

---He ordered the Centers for Disease Control to halt its weekly bulletin, which it sends to hospitals and scientists regarding whatever diseases/bacteria/viruses have come to its attention. This is at a time when 130,000,000 birds have been culled because of Bird Flu and the virus has spread to cows and is present in raw milk. CDC bulletins would go to hospitals so that is someone comes in with flu symptoms, the CDC would advise what tests to perform to determine what type of flu and thus what treatment, such as effective drugs, should be followed. One size doesn't fit all, so the treatment for the common flu would be different than that for Bird Flu or Swine Flu.

 

Expect the price of eggs---high BECAUSE of Bird Flu---to keep rising.

 

---Already one of the released Jan 6 terrorists has been arrested for a new crime, one day after his release. Obviously the convicted felon in the Oval Office couldn't care less about law enforcement officers.

 

---On 1 Feb, the 25% tariffs go into effect for imports from Canada and Mexico, as well as the---at least 10%---tariff to be placed on Chinese imports.  Can you say "INFLATION", MAGAs?

 

Of course the felon is trying to line his own pockets by signing a vague support of cryptocurrency, just days after both he and the former softcore porn model married to him issued their own meme coins.

 

Oh, and despite the best efforts of lapdog Sean Hannity of Fox, the felon showed his true intentions in an interview on Wednesday. He spoke of going after Biden, calling Biden stupid for "not pardoning himself". Hannity tried to get him to move on to other topics, but was rebuked. Hannity said, "I want to get you to talk about what you will do with the economy", to which the felon replied, "I don't care about that", and then went back to calling Biden stupid for not pardoning himself.  Lost in his rant, however, was the recent Supreme Court decision regarding Presidential immunity.

[Peterphuket]

8 hours ago, Cryingdick said:

Europe doesn't really have tech companies anyway. 

To give an example, have you ever heard of ASML?

[Nickcage49]

I don't agree with much of what he does, but AI dominance is great! However the country we need to beat is China, not the EU.

[Eric Loh]

18 minutes ago, Nickcage49 said:

I don't agree with much of what he does, but AI dominance is great! However the country we need to beat is China, not the EU.

USA is already AI dominance surpassing  China during Biden presidency. 
 

 

https://odsc.medium.com/u-s-secures-top-spot-in-global-ai-innovation-rankings-5673051fe5d1#:~:text=The United States continues to,on Global AI Innovation Rankings.

 

[Justanotherone]

AI uses a lot of electricity for sure, but what did it bring really???  a smarter google search ?

 

good for nvidia stock price only, but otherwise???

[candide]

9 hours ago, Cryingdick said:

Europe doesn't really have tech companies anyway. 

It has, but no giant tech companies able to make such an investment.

 

The problem is that EU laws are restricting national industrial policies without replacing them with a European industrial policy. They also de facto restrict the concentration of industries at the European level, so the "natural" emergence of European giants is also hindered.

 

The AI battle has already been lost long before this announcement.

 

[OneMoreFarang]

Let's see how this will work out.

Especially Musk changed his opinion about AI many times.

 

As we all know, there are huge risks with AI. Maybe it's good when the American do the risky things first. It's likely that they will fail at least in some areas. Then the rest of the world can learn from them - without investing all that money.

 

[jas007]

9 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I fear that the outcome of AI is not going to be very good for Joe Average, and even Jack Middle Class as AI can destroy almost every job that uses computers or a robot.

Unless very strong protections are put in place along with the project, I doubt if we even understand how far reaching AI on this scale is going to affect most of us.

 

Also, who is going to benefit from the new technology, average citizens or the 1 %?

 

This is really going where no man has gone before.

 

The AI revolution isn't going to be good for a lot of people.  Anyone who has a job where they show up every day and push papers around should probably be worried.  In a year or two, some AI Bot will be able to do your job.  

 

People in the trades will fare somewhat better.  Plumbers, electricians, carpenters, mechanics.  This people will be in demand. 

 

In any event, the revolution is here and can't be stopped.  They could't stop the railroads, they couldn't stop the internal combustion engine, they couldn't stop computers and the Internet.  

 

 

 

[Purdey]

No money to repair roads and bridges but loads of cash for tech?

[Cryingdick]

 

6 hours ago, Peterphuket said:

To give an example, have you ever heard of ASML?

 

Yes I own shares of them. Dutch fab that specializes in lithography. They haven't being doing so well lately as they are down something like 40%, I still like them though.I own shares in ARM as well. That's two I

guess add SAP out of Germany and after that there isn't much. 

 

Those aren't exactly household names. Europe doesn't have a single mega cap tech. i don't think they have ever produced a trillion dollar company at all. 

[SiSePuede419]

17 hours ago, Social Media said:

$500 billion

$100 Billion

$10 Billion

$6.6 Billion 

$4 Billion 

 

Sure, Jan.  If you say must be true.

 

Remember, this is the Salesliar who says he won the youth vote by "32 points".  No, wait.  He then said "34 points".

 

How much did Trump win the youth vote by?

 

Trump lost the youth vote by 11 points.

 

When are you people going to learn Trump is just a loudmouth liar? 😭

 

In October 2024, OpenAI completed a $6.6 billion funding round, valuing the company at $157 billion. Additionally, as of September 2024, OpenAI's annual recurring revenue was estimated at $4 billion, reflecting a 248% year-over-year growth. 

[Cryingdick]

5 hours ago, Justanotherone said:

AI uses a lot of electricity for sure, but what did it bring really???  a smarter google search ?

 

good for nvidia stock price only, but otherwise???

 

They are talking about using to to cure cancer for starters. As far as NVDA goes one case use of their chip is the omniverse. Where you can for example, build a factory in VR and test every system, and component as if it were real. So you can back test. And make everything more efficient and spot problems. If you don't know what AI will do maybe you should try using google a little more.

 

I use AI almost everyday. If you want to build a house give the deminesions and window and door holes and you will know to the exact piece of wood how many boards you need to frame it. I used it to put solar in my camper. Instead of figuring it out I asked Chat GPT a few simpl.e questions to figure out charge rates and draw downs and saved a lot of time.

 

I want to plant my land in Florida. You can google plants but AI can compare them assess rain conditions soil types etc. It plans trips very well. People even use it to post replies to ignorant people online saving valuable time.

 

For example I could ask Chat GPT why AI is more than a glorified google search and your comment would look extremely silly.

 

If you can't make use of AI in the very near future you will not have a future. AI is useful for people that strive to be productive. 

[SiSePuede419]

11 hours ago, Cryingdick said:

Where you can for example, build a factory in VR and test every system, and component as if it were real

Have you looked at the documentation for Testrail?  It's extremely complex.

Also, lots of amateur companies don't understand the importance of establishing requirements, especially startups.  What are they actually testing?  Do they understand all the requirements before the equipment is connected?

 

"Highly unlikely" 😂

[Cryingdick]

Just now, SiSePuede419 said:

Have you looked at the documentation for Testrail?  It's extremely complex.

Also, lots of amateur companies don't understand the importance of establishing requirements, especially startups.  What are they actually testing?  Do they understand all the requirements before the equipment is connected?

 

"Highly unlikely" 😂

Keep m,e updated. Link?