OAK RIDGE, Tn. (WVLT) – The United States is in the middle of a new Manhattan Project, according to U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, this time chasing the power of artificial intelligence.
Wright visited Oak Ridge Friday, claiming Tennessee’s top national labs will be key in getting the country’s energy supply ready to support the power-hungry AI industry.
“There’s a race. China has huge resources; they are massively focused on artificial intelligence,” Wright said. “We’re at the start of Manhattan Project Two.”
The analogy comparing the bourgeoning AI industry to an arms race against Nazi Germany prompted some concern, however, that Wright was quick to address.
“The goal here is if America is strong, that will prevent war,” Wright said, referring to the U.S.‘s relationship to other powers like China and Russia. “It’s not a war. It’s not a war and we need to keep it that way. And artificial intelligence is part of that.”
Wright didn’t come to Oak Ridge alone, however. He also brought OpenAI President and Co-Founder Greg Brockman. Wright spent most of a news conference touting the importance of companies like Brockman’s.
“If we want to win the AI arms race, we need to win the energy race,” Wright said. “What we need to do is grow American energy production exponentially. The leaders in the AI arms race aren’t going to be the American government. It’s going to be American industry.”
Previous Coverage: Anger, chaos and confusion take hold as federal workers face mass layoffs
Wright said this is a priority for the federal government, however, President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s DOGE have reportedly put Department of Energy workers’ jobs in limbo.
Trump and Musk’s plan to shrink the size of the federal workforce included a notice to energy employees telling them their jobs were being cut, only for the notice to be rescinded a short time later. When asked about the short-term layoffs, Wright said Oak Ridge’s labs are too advanced to warrant much reduction.
“Of course you’ll see some reduction in headcount,” Wright said about DOGE’s efforts. “I don’t think here at a cutting-edge lab, you don’t need to worry about that.”
Copyright 2025 WVLT. All rights reserved.