{
  "id": 4982911,
  "title": "Zuckerberg, Musk push for more AI data centres at G20, warn of power crunch",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/02/zuckerberg-musk-push-for-more-ai-data-centres-at-g20-warn-of-power",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-09-02T01:21:59.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Malay Mail",
    "slug": "malay-mail-malaymail",
    "url": "https://www.malaymail.com/news/money/2026/09/02/zuckerberg-musk-push-for-more-ai-data-centres-at-g20-warn-of-power-crunch/233597"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk emphasized the necessity for additional AI data centers and the electrical power required to sustain them during a G20 technology ministers gathering in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The US-based technology executives engaged in the virtual discussion under the White House's direction, which aims to maintain the AI expansion without substantial government oversight. This meeting took place during a period of increasing controversy over the construction of AI data centers in the United States, which has emerged as a significant issue as the country prepares for the upcoming midterm elections later this year.\n\nZuckerberg disclosed that the expansion would call for \"hundreds of thousands and maybe millions of jobs\" in skilled trades, attributing the demand for data centers to the immense requirement. \"We basically found at Meta that we... can’t find the skilled tradespeople that we need to build the data centers... that we as one company are trying to build,\" he stated.\n\nIn a separate address, Musk highlighted the substantial amounts of electricity needed by AI data centers, warning of a \"power crisis\" that could give China an advantage. He stated, \"There will be a significant power shortfall next year, not (the) distant future,\" and announced that his company is constructing the necessary power generation to support its data centers. The tech leaders' remarks came a day after US President Donald Trump criticized opponents of AI data centers as \"backwards and poor.\"\n\nPolls indicate that a majority of Americans are now opposed to building AI data centers due to concerns over escalating electricity bills and facility noise. Musk believes that artificial intelligence will augment the global economy by 20-30 percent, which would amount to approximately US$20 trillion (RM80.8 trillion) to US$30 trillion annually. In a virtual address to the ministers, DeepMind chief Demis Hassabis, Google's director of artificial intelligence, stated that the realization of human-level AI would generate ten times the impact of the Industrial Revolution. \"It's a huge opportunity that we have to grasp... but we've got to do that in a responsible way,\" Hassabis said.\n\nThe US currently holds the rotating G20 presidency and will host a series of ministerial meetings ahead of a leaders' summit on December 14-15 at Trump's Trump National Doral resort in Miami. The Chapel Hill meeting is organized by White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Michael Kratsios and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Nvidia's Jensen Huang and OpenAI's Sam Altman are anticipated to attend in person on Wednesday for fireside chats with Lutnick. Musk criticized European governments for overregulating technology, which he claimed is stifling their economies. He stated that technology ministers from EU members France, Italy, and Germany were present, as well as EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen. Musk argued that innovation should be \"relatively free of regulation,\" meaning new things must be default legal rather than default illegal. He added, \"In the EU... things are generally default illegal,\" implying that this situation hinders progress considerably.",
  "summary": "CHAPEL HILL (United States), Sept 2 — Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk on Tuesday stressed the need for more AI data...",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 5,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "Musk defends AI data centres, slams EU rules at G20",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/01/musk-defends-ai-data-centres-slams-eu-rules-at-g20-4893239",
        "published": "2026-09-01T15:15:27.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "New Straits Times",
        "title": "Musk defends AI data centres, slams EU rules at G20",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/01/musk-defends-ai-data-centres-slams-eu-rules-at-g20-4892917",
        "published": "2026-09-01T16:13:04.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Punch",
        "title": "Musk defends AI data centres, slams EU rules at G20",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/01/musk-defends-ai-data-centres-slams-eu-rules-at-g20",
        "published": "2026-09-01T16:16:39.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Economic Times Tech",
        "title": "Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk make plea at G20 for more AI data centers",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/02/mark-zuckerberg-elon-musk-make-plea-at-g20-for-more-ai-data-centers",
        "published": "2026-09-02T03:02:46.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}