Washington, Sep 30 (IANS) US President Donald Trump said that technology companies building large data centres should share their financial gains directly with host communities, floating bonuses for teachers and dividends for local residents.
Trump made the proposal after meeting about 40 leaders from the technology industry at the White House. The executives also signed a voluntary accord governing the development of advanced artificial intelligence, which the administration now calls “Super Intelligence”, or SI.
The President said companies should form partnerships with the towns and counties where they construct the vast facilities needed to train and operate advanced computing systems.
“The companies will be very generous to them, both financially and otherwise,” Trump said. “I think they'll help with their schools, they'll help with their teachers, they'll help with pay of the teachers.”
He did not announce a formal programme, funding requirement or mechanism for distributing the proposed benefits.
Trump later suggested that payments could go directly to people living near the facilities.
“The people are going to benefit directly,” he said. “Whether it's teachers that get paid a bonus, whether it's people that live in the community that get paid a dividend, you could call it a dividend because the dividend sounds right.”
The President said the companies had discussed community concerns during the White House meeting. He argued that data centres could generate tax revenue, raise local incomes and increase property values.
“They're going to be forming partnerships with communities when they open up data centers,” Trump said.
The rapid construction of such facilities has also produced opposition in parts of the United States. Residents and local officials have raised questions about electricity consumption, water use, land requirements, noise and the effect on household utility bills.
Trump acknowledged concerns about where projects were being placed but said the United States must continue building the infrastructure needed to compete with China.
“Frankly, I want them built in America,” he said.
“If we're not smart, they'll end up building data centers in other countries, and those other countries will make a fortune, and we won't,” Trump added.
The White House said Trump also signed an executive order directing executive-branch departments and agencies to replace the terms “Artificial Intelligence” and “AI” with “Super Intelligence” and “SI” in official communications and non-statutory documents.
The order directed the White House science and technology adviser to propose a federal definition of the new term and identify any additional executive action needed to implement it.
According to a White House fact sheet, the federal government has announced more than $5 billion for the Genesis Mission. The programme is intended to use advanced computing to accelerate scientific, medical, energy and manufacturing research.
The administration said its technology policy also rested on the AI Action Plan released in July 2025 and a National Super Intelligence Policy Framework unveiled in March 2026. It presented the data-centre build-out as essential to US economic growth and national security.
Data centres require large and reliable electricity supplies because thousands of high-performance chips must operate continuously and be kept cool. The growth of generative AI has accelerated demand for new facilities, transmission networks, power-generation capacity and cooling systems.
India is also experiencing rapid growth in cloud computing and data-centre investment, driven by digital services, data-localisation requirements and demand for AI infrastructure. The US debate over energy costs, water use and benefits for host communities therefore carries wider relevance as countries compete to expand domestic computing capacity.
--IANS
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