US President Joe Biden signed an executive order Tuesday to keep infrastructure for advanced AI operations at home in what he described as a bid to protect national security and economic interests.

The ambitious order directs the defense and energy departments to lease federal sites where the private sector can build large-scale AI data centers.

Developers will need to use clean energy, and the government will support expanding the power structure for that.

The centers require a huge amount of energy. AI researchers say training a model used by ChatGPT can use up to 1,300 megawatt-hours, about the same amount needed to power 130 homes per year.

Biden called the order "historic," saying he "will not let America be out-built" on the technology that will define the future.

It comes on the heels of his administration's proposed new restrictions on exports of AI chips, a move designed to prevent China, Russia and other countries from accessing the technology for possible military use.