Smith also advised the incoming Donald Trump administration against imposing strict AI regulations, advocating for policies that support the U.S. private sector's growth. He stressed the need for a balanced export control policy that ensures security while allowing U.S. companies to expand and supply AI components to allied countries. This move comes as cloud infrastructure providers like Microsoft and Amazon.com Inc. compete to enhance computing capacity by constructing new data centers.
Key takeaways:
```html
- Microsoft plans to spend US$80 billion this fiscal year on building data centres, primarily for AI infrastructure.
- More than half of the spending will occur in the United States, as part of Microsoft's strategy to support AI innovation.
- In the previous fiscal year, Microsoft spent over US$50 billion on capital expenditures, mainly for server farm construction.
- Microsoft president Brad Smith emphasized the importance of avoiding heavy-handed AI regulations to maintain U.S. competitiveness.