SHERMAN, Texas (AP) — Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Although his research helped make artificial intelligence a reality, he stressed in an interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday that with the advent of AI, society has no choice but to change.
Huang is optimistic about the technology’s potential to rapidly transform society, leading to faster economic growth and more scientific progress. But as head of a computer chip company currently developing AI systems, Huang felt obligated to respond to critics who warned of job losses and threats to humanity itself.
“We need to create new social norms,” Huang said in an interview. “I advocate for everyone to use AI. Just take advantage of it.”
He said AI’s ability to build websites, analyze complex documents, guide advanced research, and even plan a kitchen remodel is helping to close the technology gap in the United States. People can now perform sophisticated tasks on computers without knowing how to program or write software, he added.
Hwang emphasized the need for government regulation and safety standards for AI, and that national security must also be a priority for the technology that has powered the stock market rally and much of the U.S. economy in recent years.
The head of the world’s most valuable company said society will adapt to AI the same way it has adapted to cars. He said cars were once portrayed as killing children, but the world has changed norms by building sidewalks, crosswalks and preventing children from playing in the streets.
“When I was a child, I used to play on the street a lot,” Huang said. “When cars came out, you obviously can’t play on the road now.”
Huang is skeptical about what government ownership of AI companies will accomplish
Nvidia has a market capitalization of about $5 trillion, and its valuation has soared in recent years, making it the world’s most valuable company. AI modeling companies OpenAI and Anthropic could also surpass the $1 trillion mark if their shares go public.
The explosion of wealth concentrated in AI companies is raising new concerns about economic inequality. President Donald Trump has sought to allay these concerns, recently mulling the possibility that the U.S. government could own some stake in AI companies, allowing the windfall to be shared more widely with the public. The idea is also being promoted by Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-Vt., as well as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
Hwang expressed skepticism about the idea, saying he expected the country would already benefit widely from advances in AI.
“We don’t know exactly what they’re trying to accomplish,” he said of government ownership. “I haven’t talked to them about it. But just remember that these are American companies. Their success benefits stock prices that a lot of Americans have invested in. It generates taxes, it helps a lot of Americans, and it creates a lot of jobs.”
He noted that AI companies could also lead to increased profits for energy, construction and hardware technology companies.
“Of course, Americans already have stakes in American companies in a variety of ways,” Huang said. “I don’t know exactly what they’re trying to accomplish beyond that.”
