Jensen Huang: "Trillions of dollars more needed for AI infrastructure...Jobs will increase"

[The Financial News] Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, predicted that trillions of additional dollars will be needed to build out artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure in the years ahead.
According to Agence France-Presse (AFP) and other outlets on the 21st (local time), Huang spoke in a conversation with BlackRock CEO Larry Fink at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos. He said, "The AI boom has set in motion the largest infrastructure build-out in human history," adding, "Hundreds of billions of dollars have been invested so far, but trillions of dollars more in infrastructure need to be added."
He identified several areas where such investment in AI infrastructure must take place: energy, chips and computing infrastructure, cloud data centers, AI models, and applications. He likened these layers, built from the bottom up, to a "five-layer cake."
He went on to stress, "Because of this structure, the advancement of AI will create jobs across the entire economy, from construction and manufacturing to software." He predicted that, thanks to demand for building data centers, plumbers, electricians, and construction workers "will be able to earn seven-figure salaries." He also forecast that the largest economic gains will come from applications, the AI software that sits at the very top layer.
He also dismissed the "AI bubble theory" raised in some quarters. "The AI bubble arises because the scale of investment is so large, and the reason the investment is so large is that we have to build AI infrastructure spanning five layers," he said, adding, "I believe this opportunity is truly special."
He further argued, "AI is essential national infrastructure," and said, "Every country should treat AI the way it treats electricity or roads."
Huang added that "AI can give developing countries a chance to narrow the technological gap with advanced economies," and noted that to take full advantage of this, education in "AI literacy"—how to use AI effectively—is necessary.
whywani@fnnews.com Reporter Hong Chae-wan Reporter