Nvidia CEO to Joe Rogan: Nobody "really knows" AI's endgame

What they're saying: "I think we're always in a bit of a technology race," he said, referring to the Manhattan Project and the Cold War.

• "Technology gives you superpowers, whether it's information superpowers or energy superpowers or military superpowers."

Rogan also suggested that the U.S. winning the AI race is of national security importance: "And when we're working towards this ultimate goal of AI, it's impossible to imagine that it wouldn't be of national security interest to get there first."

• Huang admitted it's unclear what the endgame for AI is. "The question is, 'what's there... I'm not sure... I don't think anybody, I don't think anybody really knows."
• "You're the head of Nvidia. If you don't know, who does?" Rogan asked.

Zoom in: Huang also said that Trump is more than "negative stories" and "negative narratives."

• "You could tell his love for America, what he wants to do for America," he told Joe Rogan. "And everything that he thinks through is very practical and very common sense, and, you know, it's very logical."
• Trump "wants to make sure that that the important, critical technology of our nation is built in United States, and that we re-industrialize and get good at manufacturing again, because it's important for jobs," Huang added.

Context: Huang's interview comes the same day that Rogan's podcast topped Spotify's year-end results as the world's top podcast — another win for Rogan as his podcast continues to dominate listening platforms.

Flashback: Rogan has been critical of AI at points, including after a fictional episode of his podcast, created by AI, featured a fake Rogan speaking to a fake version of Sam Altman and was published on YouTube.

• Huang acknowledged in November that "everybody's jobs will be different" as a result of AI.

Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional details.