“I think the data centers end up being treated like utilities in the future. The government says we want to regulate compute. They're not going to regulate the chips or the models because those are too hard to catch up on. And you're never going to be able to regulate development of software. But the utilization of that software is fundamentally constrained by how much access you get to compute.”
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg · Money & Markets · November 2026
Context
Friedberg was predicting where AI politics goes next, after saying both parties want control of the technology. He expects governments to regulate compute because it is the only real chokepoint.
Transcript
…the big reason why people hate the data center so much is they perceive that it's driving up their utility bills. And the oligarchs are getting rich off the data centers while they're paying more. Which goes to the oligarchs are getting tax breaks, and you're getting higher utility. Which goes to
…midterms have looked like? And then, what do you think happens in the next 18 months of Trump's presidency? Is there a way to turn around his legacy? And if there is a way, what two or three pieces of advice would you give this administration to focus on in their remaining 18 to 24 months of power?
I kind of agree with the notion that the AI data center hysteria and the hatred for the Iran war are both rooted in this idea that you haven't solved my economic problems first. So, I don't think that they're the primary. I think that they're a reflection of the consequence of not focusing on my issues first, my economic cost problem first. So, I think that's still the biggest issue. I think two things are about to happen in 27. One is, I think it's going to be very hard with this Congress and the sitting president to come to a resolution on a clean budget. And as a result, I think things are going to continue as is. And I worry about the cost of things continuing to climb. And by the way, I'll just reflect on Shamaf's point. COVID was an accelerating moment for this unaffordability problem for people that don't own assets in the U.S. And the reason is we doubled government spending. That's what happened. And by doubling government spending, everything inflates, including assets, which is why people who are asset owners benefit, and people who are earners for their labor lose because the cost of everything goes up. And if you're making money from a paycheck every week, you…
Yeah. And at a minimum, they're going to get a great tax basis. I think a lot of the data center stuff is performative. They just want to get a better deal. If you look at how Gina from Texas looked at data centers, she's looking at it from the community first perspective. If you look at how Trump…
before we totally throw the baby out with the bath butter, I think it's important to realize that if you look at Reagan's presidency, Reagan's presidency has only grown in its stature over time because the structural changes that Reagan made were more obvious to see in its totality the further you…
Okay, Sachs, any final thoughts here? I'll give you a last word again. Aside from getting out of the war, we all agree that's number one on the list. What else can President Trump do in the last 18 months that would be productive for the country and for his legacy?
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