US Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Thursday acknowledged that artificial intelligence will be a disruptive force, including in the jobs market, but said the revolutionary tech will ultimately bring “massively larger” positives.
His comments come after President Donald Trump on Monday said AI would destroy jobs “maybe a little bit” but that new positions would also be created.
“Is AI going to be disruptive? Of course,” Mr Wright said. “If you've got a new, powerful tool, it's going to be disruptive, but the positives, I believe, and I think the evidence is compelling, are going to be massively larger than the negatives.”
Mr Wright was speaking at the AI+ Expo in Washington, hosted by the Special Competitive Studies Project (SCSP).
Recent US polling shows growing reticence about AI, with many of those concerns rooted in the potential for job disruption and the potential impacts that data centres will have on the environment.
There has also been speculation that the US used AI tools in its strikes on Iran, specifically a deadly strike on a school that killed at least 165 people, many of them children. That strike remains under investigation.
At one point, he was interrupted by a protester shouting about the conflict in Iran, conditions in Palestine and US climate policies.
The AI exhibition has become a staple in the US capital amid rapidly growing interest and investments in the technology. The multi-day AI+ Expo is sponsored by technology heavyweights such as Alphabet, AWS, Microsoft, Lockheed Martin, AMD and Nvidia.
Some of the companies attending the exhibition have been criticised over their contracts with the US military involving AI tools, making AI+ a magnet for demonstrators.
During last year’s event, protesters were also plentiful, with Palestine being the main focus. Demonstrators rushed the main stage and held banners to protest against US policy towards Gaza and support for Israel.
As security escorted the protester out, Mr Wright did not address the brief disturbance, nor did the other panellist, Ian Buck, Nvidia’s vice president of hyperscale and high performance computing.
Throughout the roughly 30-minute discussion, Mr Wright spoke about his affinity for small modular nuclear reactors, data centres and what he described as AI's potential to strengthen the US energy grid.
