‘This is a competition we have to win’: 4 observations from Dave McCormick’s AI and energy summit

The nation’s top political and tech leaders converged on Pittsburgh on Tuesday for an all-day summit, hosted by U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick, that focused on Pennsylvania’s ability to cement itself as a leader at the intersection of technology, artificial intelligence and energy.

McCormick’s inaugural Energy and Innovation Summit, held at Carnegie Mellon University, featured appearances from President Donald Trump, Gov. Josh Shapiro and other political leaders who joined forces in the Steel City to announce $90 billion of private investment in energy and AI-related projects across Pennsylvania. 

The event also explored how the United States can win the AI arms race, the opportunities and challenges that AI presents and how the commonwealth can leverage its energy resources – including fossil fuels and nuclear energy infrastructure – in the new AI economy. 

Below, City & State presents four observations from McCormick’s inaugural summit and how Pennsylvania is poised to contribute to the broader conversation about artificial intelligence.

$90B in AI investments pour into Pennsylvania

Perhaps the biggest news of McCormick’s AI-focused event is that private sector leaders have pledged to invest more than $90 billion toward AI and related infrastructure across the commonwealth. 

Blackstone and CoreWeave were two of the first companies to announce their respective investments on Tuesday, with Blackstone announcing a $25 billion commitment that will fund the construction of data centers in Northeast Pennsylvania, as well as the buildout of natural gas power plants in the state. CoreWeave similarly announced that it will commit up to $6 billion to equip a new 100-megawatt data center in Lancaster, which has the potential to expand to 300 MW.

Brookfield Asset Management and Google also announced a new $3 billion “hydro framework agreement” that will allow Google to take advantage of carbon-free electricity from Brookfield’s Holtwood and Safe Harbor hydroelectric facilities.

Other notable voices and private sector leaders at McCormick’s summit included Blackstone president and COO Jon Gray, BlackRock Chair and CEO Larry Fink, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, “Dirty Jobs” host Mike Rowe and ExxonMobil Chair and CEO Darren Woods.

The formal announcement on the AI investments in Pennsylvania came during a roundtable discussion with Trump, McCormick and other business leaders. The president said the investment news marked a “really triumphant day for the people of the commonwealth and for the United States of America.”

“We're here today because we believe that America's destiny is to dominate every industry and be the first in every technology – and that includes being the world’s No. 1 superpower for artificial intelligence,” Trump said.

Shapiro and McCormick show united front on AI

Pennsylvania’s Democratic governor and Republican officials don’t always find themselves in agreement on major issues, but they were in lockstep on making Pennsylvania an AI powerhouse at Tuesday’s event. 

Both Shapiro and McCormick touched on the importance that Pennsylvania’s workforce, educational institutions and energy assets could play in the AI economy.

“I think this deal with Amazon is an indicator of all that we can be … we have government and the private sector working together, not at odds, and we pull in our educational institutions in a way that really helps move Pennsylvania forward,” Shapiro said during the day’s third panel.

McCormick similarly said that Pennsylvania was dealt “a set of cards that are uniquely suited to the moment.” 

“On this, we agree that we need to be at the crossroads of the energy revolution, the AI revolution,” the senator said. “We need to be aligned at all levels.”

Trump administration well represented at Pittsburgh summit

Not only did the president headline Tuesday’s summit, but members of Trump’s administration had a visible presence at the event, as well. 

David Sacks, the administration’s AI and crypto czar, took part in the day’s first panel, while U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick discussed the importance of selling younger generations on new trades jobs that will result from an expansion of data centers and other AI infrastructure.

U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright also participated in a panel examining AI and the energy demands that the evolving technology will require. Lutnick weighed in on AI’s energy demands,  saying that  it is vital that the U.S. take advantage of its diverse energy portfolio in order to meet the power needs of AI infrastructure. 

“We have the capacity to drive the AI revolution in America – China does not,” Lutnick said. “We have the power to do it, and if we don’t do it, we’re fools.”

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum took part in a one-on-one interview that was conducted by Pennsylvania Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also participated in the roundtable event that concluded the summit. 

Trump, in his remarks during the roundtable discussion with business leaders, said Pennsylvania is leaning back into its industrial roots as AI ushers in what some are referring to as a second Industrial Revolution.  

“Today, the commonwealth is reclaiming its industrial heritage and taking its place at the forefront of the AI technological revolution,” the president said.

Winning the AI race

Tuesday’s summit was all about Pennsylvania – and how to position Pennsylvania in a manner in which the Mon Valley is just as consequential  as Silicon Valley. Sacks, the White House AI czar, said that governments at all levels need to create a regulatory environment that rewards innovation rather than stifles it. “You can’t regulate your way to winning an innovation competition,” Sacks said. “In the United States, innovation happens in the private sector; it’s not the government that’s doing the innovation.”

On the education front, several speakers emphasized how the growing prevalence of AI will also usher in changes to education, both in terms of training workers for jobs in the AI economy and ensuring there are educational pathways outside of the traditional four-year college degree. 

“We have to create pathways into this economy that we’re creating that’s going to bring everybody along. That’s a moral responsibility that all of us have,” said Farnam Jahanian, the president of Carnegie Mellon University. “We have a responsibility, working with community colleges, vocational (schools), to create a workforce that’s going to embrace this future.”

McCormick framed the importance of winning the AI race in no uncertain terms. “The stakes couldn’t be higher. The AI revolution has potential and promise to transform our nation’s economic outlook, and it also poses huge opportunities – but also risk – for national security,” he said. “If the United States does not lead this revolution on our own terms, we will hand control of our infrastructure, our data, our leadership and our way of life to the Chinese Communist Party.”

“This is a competition that we have to win,” he said. “That’s why we must build – from natural gas turbines and nuclear reactors, to transmission lines, data centers and a skilled workforce – building is the key to unlocking the potential of AI.”