The world’s superpowers are engaging in a different type of arms race beyond the battlefield. With technology advancing at a speedy pace, a global competition for all the ingredients necessary to support artificial intelligence - from data centres and semiconductors to the AI models themselves - is heating up. Not only do these ingredients form the building blocks of today’s economy, but building a secure and reliable flow of data is also considered a key national security objective. The UK designated data centres as critical national infrastructure in 2024, underlining how governments are now prioritising energy supply, cybersecurity, and efforts to guard the digital world from adversaries. This race for technological supremacy, coupled with growing private-sector demand related to AI and cloud computing, is propelling new investment opportunities.
This episode of The Outthinking Investor covers the opportunities, challenges, and security considerations at play amid rapid innovation in AI and a global battle for technological supremacy. Topics include the intersection of AI, chips and national security; governments’ pursuit of secure and reliable supply chains; and real estate opportunities created by rapid growth in hyperscale data centres.
Our guests are Chris Miller, a professor at the Fletcher School at Tufts University and author of the book “Chip War: The Fight for the World’s Most Critical Technology”; William Reinsch, senior adviser with the Economics Program and Scholl Chair in International Business at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies; and Morgan Laughlin, Global Head of Data Centre Investments at PGIM Real Estate.
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