Microsoft President Brad Smith has authored a blog post detailed the company’s vision for “the Golden Age Opportunity for American AI.”

AI has taken the tech world by storm, with companies of all sizes investing countless billions into further development. Microsoft has been one of the leading AI adopters, investing heavily in OpenAI and using its ChatGPT as the bases for Microsoft Copilot, which the company is rolling out across its platforms and services.

In his blog post, Smith makes the case that AI is poised to usher in the greatest opportunity since the invention of electricity.

As we usher in a New Year, we will welcome a new president into the White House as well as a golden opportunity for American technology and economic competitiveness. Not since the invention of electricity has the United States had the opportunity it has today to harness new technology to invigorate the nation’s economy. In many ways, artificial intelligence is the electricity of our age, and the next four years can build a foundation for America’s economic success for the next quarter century.

At Microsoft, we see a three-part vision for America’s technology success. This starts with advances and investments in world-leading American AI technology and infrastructure. Second, the country needs to champion skilling programs that will enable widespread AI adoption and enhanced career opportunities across the economy. Finally, the United States must focus on exporting American AI to our allies and friends, bolstering our domestic economy and ensuring that other countries benefit from AI advancements.

Investments

Smith emphasizes the private sector’s investment, both in making AI what it is, as well as the investments that will be necessary to continue innovating. He also reveals that the company plants to spend $80 billion on AI-enabled data centers in 2025 alone.

America’s technological strength has always been rooted in the private sector. Today, the United States leads the global AI race thanks to the investment of private capital and innovations by American companies of all sizes, from dynamic start-ups to well-established enterprises. At Microsoft, we’ve seen this firsthand through our partnership with OpenAI, from rising firms such as Anthropic and xAI, and our own AI-enabled software platforms and applications. Across the nation, a new generation of AI firms is emerging, each capitalizing on rapid advances in AI models and chips, moving to Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) and AI Accelerator Chips. And across the economy, software programs are being redesigned to operate as AI-enabled applications.

None of this progress would be possible without new partnerships founded on large-scale infrastructure investments that serve as the essential foundation of AI innovation and use. In FY 2025, Microsoft is on track to invest approximately $80 billion to build out AI-enabled datacenters to train AI models and deploy AI and cloud-based applications around the world. More than half of this total investment will be in the United States, reflecting our commitment to this country and our confidence in the American economy.

Training

Smith also makes the case for the importance of “skilling initiatives” to train workers for the AI age.

AI, like all new technologies, will disrupt the economy and displace some jobs. But as we’ve worked on skilling initiatives during the past few years, our confidence has grown that AI will create new opportunities that will outweigh many of the challenges ahead. If used well, AI will help lower the barriers to entry for many professions, replace rote tasks, and create a foundation for human creativity that builds on AI tools. AI will create new economic opportunities, allowing entrepreneurs to start new businesses and create new jobs. Along the way, AI can boost productivity in every sector of the economy, adding to the country’s opportunity for economic growth.

AI is already becoming a tool to enable small business owners with fewer staff to compete in new ways with larger companies. And it offers the best opportunity so far this century to help high school grads and others with less post-secondary education to reverse the growing economic inequality that has gripped the nation since the early 1990s.

The key will be to develop a national AI talent strategy that equips Americans of all ages and backgrounds with the opportunity to acquire the AI skills needed for economic advancement. A key opportunity for most people will be to develop an AI fluency that will enable them to use AI in their jobs, much as they use laptops, smartphones, software applications, and the internet today.

American AI

Smith concludes by pointing out the role AI will play in revitalizing the economy and opening the door for all-new opportunities.

As a nation, we have a solid AI technology foundation fueled by the world’s most robust and innovative private sector. With a thoughtful approach to government policy, we can sustain our leadership through well-funded basic research at the nation’s universities and broad support for private sector innovation.

Our strong educational system can spread new AI skills to work that will energize our economy. Technology platforms and non-profits can help people use AI to enhance their careers. We have the world’s most dynamic business sector that excels in adopting new technology. If the Trump Administration can develop a strong national AI talent strategy and use AI to make the government itself more effective and efficient, it will put the country on a promising path.

Finally, the United States is in a strong position to win the essential race with China by advancing international adoption of American AI. American products are more trusted than their Chinese counterparts, and our private sector is unmatched in its ability to invest in infrastructure around the world. With a balanced and common-sense approach to export control policy, the United States can solidify the diplomatic relations that will be critical to global AI adoption.

Smith’s blog post in its entirety is a fascinating read and underscores just how important AI has become in the tech world and behond.