As OpenAI’s Stargate project ignites fierce state-level competition and international talks heat up over autonomous weapons, lawmakers in D.C. are turning their attention to national security space programs and the future of cybersecurity collaboration. Dive into the stories shaping the next era of defense, diplomacy, and data below.

In this week’s Nimitz Tech:

• Chips: Trump is turning America’s AI chip dominance into his latest deal-making weapon on the world stage.

• Federalism: Big Tech is racing to Washington to block California’s AI crackdown before it sets the national standard again.

• Killer Robots: As AI weapons flood global battlefields, the clock is ticking to stop machines from making life-or-death decisions unchecked.

WHO’S HAVING EVENTS THIS WEEK?

Wednesday May 13th

• 🛰️ House Hearing: “National Security Space Programs.” House Committee on Armed Services, Subcommittee on Strategic Forces. Hearing scheduled for 3:30 AM in 2212 Rayburn HOB. Watch here.

Thursday, May 14th

• 📡 House Hearing: “In Defense of Defensive Measures: Reauthorizing Cybersecurity Information Sharing Activities that Underpin U.S. National Cyber Defense.” House Committee on Homeland Security, Subcommittee on Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection. Hearing scheduled for 2:00 PM in 310 Canon HOB. Watch here.

TECH NEWS DRIVING THE WEEK

In Washington

• As President Trump tours the Middle East, his administration is leveraging America’s control over cutting-edge artificial intelligence chips to forge strategic and economic alliances with oil-rich Gulf nations eager to lead in AI development. Countries like Saudi Arabia and the UAE seek access to U.S.-made chips to power vast new data centers, but face regulatory hurdles rooted in national security concerns. While the Biden administration had imposed sweeping limits on AI chip exports, Trump’s team is moving to replace those with a more deal-centric, flexible framework that aligns with his business-first approach. Key tech leaders, including executives from Nvidia, OpenAI, and AMD, are joining the trip to explore lucrative partnerships, even as critics warn of the risks in empowering autocratic regimes with transformative technologies. The administration’s new strategy—potentially tying chip access to trade talks—signals a shift toward using U.S. tech dominance as global leverage, with potentially unpredictable consequences for both foreign policy and Silicon Valley.

• Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) has introduced the Chip Security Act, a bill requiring advanced AI chips subject to export controls to include location-tracking systems, aiming to prevent U.S. technology from reaching adversaries like China. Exporters would need to report any tampering or diversion to the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security. The proposal comes as the Trump administration moves to repeal a Biden-era rule that limited chip sales globally, a policy criticized by industry leaders like Nvidia and Microsoft for stifling innovation. New export rules targeting Nvidia’s H20 and AMD’s MI308 chips have prompted Nvidia to warn of a $5.5 billion revenue impact and plan a modified chip release.

• Anthony Jancso, a former Palantir employee and cofounder of the government tech startup AccelerateX, is recruiting technologists for a project linked to Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) that aims to deploy AI agents across federal agencies to automate tasks currently performed by over 70,000 employees. Promoting the initiative in a Palantir alumni Slack, Jancso framed it as a step toward more efficient governance, but faced strong criticism and ridicule from fellow tech professionals. AccelerateX, originally supported by OpenAI and Anthropic through hackathons, has evolved into a partner of Palantir and a vocal critic of legacy government IT systems. Despite growing political momentum, experts warn that deploying AI at such scale across government agencies is unrealistic and risky due to regulatory complexity, the unreliability of AI agents, and the human oversight still required. Critics also question whether the federal government is the right place to trial such unproven, cutting-edge technologies.

National

• As California and other states move to impose strict regulations on artificial intelligence, major tech firms like OpenAI, Google, Meta, and venture capital powerhouse Andreessen Horowitz are lobbying Washington to pass milder national rules that would override tougher state laws. This effort reflects growing tension between Silicon Valley and state-level lawmakers—especially in California—who are pushing aggressive oversight measures, including whistleblower protections and AI safety standards. Despite historic resistance to regulation, tech companies now view federal legislation as a preferable alternative to a fragmented “patchwork” of state rules. However, industry insiders remain divided on how stringent those federal rules should be, and experts warn that hasty federal preemption could backfire. The debate echoes earlier tech policy clashes, such as over data privacy, and unfolds amid rising concerns that AI's rapid development is becoming a national security issue.

• OpenAI's ambitious $100 billion Stargate project—a nationwide initiative to build massive AI data centers—has sparked a frenzy among state and local governments, landowners, and developers eager to secure a slice of what is being billed as the future of American infrastructure and global AI leadership. Promoted by President Trump and backed by Oracle and SoftBank, Stargate promises tens of thousands of jobs and transformative economic benefits, prompting at least 20 states to submit site proposals. However, growing skepticism surrounds the project's actual job creation, the strain on local utilities, and the heavy tax incentives offered to attract it, with critics drawing parallels to past overhyped developments like Foxconn's failed Wisconsin factory. While some see Stargate as a lifeline for post-industrial communities, others caution against selling out public resources for uncertain returns, underscoring deep national divisions over the role of tech-driven reindustrialization.

International

• The United Nations convened a pivotal meeting on Monday to revive stalled efforts to regulate AI-powered autonomous weapons, which are rapidly reshaping modern warfare in conflicts like Ukraine and Gaza. Despite mounting concerns from experts, campaigners, and human rights groups, progress toward binding international rules has lagged far behind the technology’s pace. While 164 countries backed a 2023 resolution calling for urgent regulation, key military powers including the U.S., Russia, China, and India oppose a global treaty, favoring national guidelines instead. Critics warn that without swift action, the world risks sliding into an unregulated arms race driven by machines capable of making lethal decisions without human oversight—a scenario described by Amnesty International as “extraordinary” and deeply dangerous.

FOR FUN

• 🍨 Malai Ice Cream Party with founder Pooja Bavishi (14th St. Corridor) 5/14

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