CNN
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Microsoft said it is spending $3.3 billion to build a data hub in Wisconsin aimed at training employees and manufacturers on the best uses of artificial intelligence.
President Joe Biden will appear in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, on Wednesday to highlight the administration's efforts to boost American jobs.
The news comes six years after the Trump administration announced a $10 billion investment by tech manufacturer Foxconn — with the promise of bringing 13,000 jobs to the area — on the same Wisconsin land, a project that Which never materialized.
According to Microsoft, the new center aims to create 2,300 union construction jobs and 2,000 permanent jobs over time.
The company told CNN it will use the AI center to train about 100,000 workers. It also plans to open a lab on the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee campus to help companies and manufacturers use the technology in their businesses.
Microsoft chairman and CEO Satya Nadella earned a master's degree in computer science from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, according to his company profile.
In his remarks Wednesday, Biden plans to point the finger directly at Trump for the failed plan, according to a White House official.
The president's visit to the key battleground state will also give the White House an opportunity to try to highlight some of the key achievements of the Biden administration's first term — and, in particular, the bipartisan infrastructure law and the so-called “CHIPS Act.” Funding from the Jesse legislation, which invests in semiconductor chip manufacturing in the United States, will boost the Badger State.
In a fact sheet released by the White House ahead of the president's visit, the administration says 177,000 jobs have been added to Wisconsin since the president takes office in 2021 — 4,000 specifically in Racine.
Last year, Biden signed an executive order on AI aimed at giving entrepreneurs access to technical support and resources, helping small businesses commercialize AI breakthroughs, and in areas like health care and climate change. I want to increase grants for AI research.
The White House also introduced an order in 2023 requiring developers of AI systems to share the results of their security tests with the federal government before releasing them to the public.
Microsoft's move comes at a time when the government is trying to monitor and control artificial intelligence threats. In March, during his State of the Union address, Biden urged Congress to pass legislation to regulate artificial intelligence, including banning “AI voice imitations and more.” He said lawmakers need to “seize the promise of AI and protect us from its threat,” warning of the technology's dangers to Americans if left unchecked.
Beyond AI, Wisconsin Looking towards the funding stream. Industries of the Future The state received $6.9 billion from Biden's “Investing in America” agenda for infrastructure and clean energy.