Even as the world economy faces uncertainty from the war involving the United States, Israel and Iran, leaders from Wall Street and Silicon Valley expressed optimism that the U.S. economy will enjoy steep growth driven by artificial intelligence (AI) innovation. They argued in particular that jobs could increase further as astronomical AI investment revives U.S. manufacturing and energy industries.
The "Milken Global Conference 2026," held Saturday in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California, focused squarely on war and AI, unlike previous editions that centered on finance and healthcare.
Taking the podium under the theme "Leadership in the AI Era," Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang declared, "AI is the best opportunity for the United States to resume industrialization, and by harnessing the power of the market, it will create hundreds of thousands of jobs over the next four to five years."
"AI also presents a chance to modernize America's aging power grid," he said, signaling a willingness to invest in power infrastructure. "When we invest one dollar in infrastructure, investors invest an additional nine dollars based on trust," Huang explained.
Regarding restrictions on exports of his company's AI chips, such as the "H200," to China, Huang indirectly called for a political solution, saying, "We can contribute to national security and economic security only by maximizing exports and increasing revenue."
On the conflict between Anthropic and the U.S. Department of Defense over the weaponization of AI, Huang sided with the Defense Department. "I completely trust that the government will use technology correctly," Huang said. "My belief is that the U.S. government has decided to use technology to protect the nation and families, and if it is legal and for national security, they would hope not to ask me whether they can use that technology in wartime."
Big tech executives at the event drew a firm line against concerns that AI could erode jobs. Ruth Porat, president and chief investment officer (CIO) of Google parent Alphabet, stressed, "What people don't know well is that one data center job spawns nine new jobs." Dina Powell McCormick, vice chairman of Meta, added, "The 200 million small and medium-sized businesses operating on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Threads are using AI to create an enormous number of jobs."
Major Wall Street figures expected the U.S. economy to rebound on the back of AI investment once the war passes, just as the Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 and Nasdaq Composite indexes recently hit record highs despite the Middle East crisis. Waleed Al Mokarrab Al Muhairi, deputy group chief executive of the United Arab Emirates' Mubadala Investment Company, said, "We believe the U.S. economy will undergo a strong 'V-shaped' recovery, as it did after the global financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, based on AI infrastructure, energy and healthcare industries." He explained, "That is why 44% of our roughly $380 billion asset portfolio is in the United States." Jon Gray, president and chief operating officer (COO) of Blackstone, said, "Excluding oil prices, big tech firms announced $750 billion in AI capital expenditure plans last week, which will reach trillions of dollars over the next several years." He recommended, "The number of on-site workers at our company's data centers is set to grow from 10,000 last year to 40,000 by the end of this year, and we should pay attention to the increase in blue-collar jobs over the next five years."
U.S. policymakers who flew in from Washington also pledged support, saying they would broaden investment opportunities for individuals in AI. Paul Atkins, chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), said, "Over the next three to six months we will focus on easing corporate disclosure burdens through measures such as resolving disclosure complexity, reducing reckless litigation and preventing the weaponization of corporate governance," adding, "The goal is to make IPOs great again." Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council (NEC), assessed the so-called "Trump Account" — under which the federal government provides $1,000 in seed investment to U.S. citizen newborns born between 2025 and 2028 — as "a revolution focused on the bottom 10% who don't receive the benefits of compound interest." He said, "We will expand it through legislation."
The Milken Global Conference, which brings together political and business leaders, financial experts and technology innovators from around the world to discuss pressing challenges facing humanity, is also called the American version of the Davos Forum. Launched in 1998, it marked its 29th edition this year. More than 4,000 people attended this year's conference, including over 900 speakers.
