OpenAI staged a $500 billion AI infrastructure announcement at the White House the day after President Trump's inauguration—but the deal wasn't new. Construction had begun in June 2024, and planning dated to 2022. SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son told President Trump at the announcement: "We wouldn't have decided unless you won." The same day, President Trump revoked the Biden administration's AI safety executive order and promised emergency declarations to fast-track construction.
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How to submitWhy this is Complicity
The Stargate deal itself, with construction already underway and planning dating to 2022, had nothing to do with President Trump. The project itself is not an act of complicity, but the flattery is: giving President Trump credit for something his administration played no role in creating, staged as a White House photo op on his first full day in office, in exchange for regulatory changes and access.