The Nvidia crisis lands on a shifting political landscape

Some corruption — both governmental and corporate — is convoluted enough that a lot of people bury it under a big pile of who cares. But once you add illicit sex and foreign spies, well, you’ve lit the match.

Just ask Jensen Huang, former CEO of Nvidia, former king of the world — or at least of the artificial intelligence world.

According to the New York Times:

The abrupt resignation of Nvidia’s chief executive, Jensen Huang, on Thursday morning after revelations that he had extramarital affairs with two women sent shock waves through the A.I. industry and spurred calls on Capitol Hill for investigations into whether U.S. security had been compromised.

Mr. Huang, the co-founder and chief executive of the Silicon Valley chip giant, stepped down after Nvidia’s board started an inquiry into allegations that he had extramarital affairs with a woman who U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded was spying for China, as well as with an executive who reported to him.

The outline of what was reported this week is jaw-dropping. According to reports:

• Huang was having an affair with Alice Huang, a suspected spy for China who led a Singaporean data center company that had bought Nvidia chips.
• The United States was investigating the company, Megaspeed, for possible chip smuggling.
• Jensen Huang is a close ally of Donald Trump, who included Huang on a recent state visit to China. The United States is officially attempting to limit Chinese access to U.S. chips used in artificial intelligence.
• Trump was warned about Huang’s affair, seemingly to little effect.

Nvidia manufactures the chip that dominates the AI market, a technology that increasingly drives the world economy. Its proponents foresee a golden age; its most ardent critics fear catastrophe. Even in less dire terms, it is a potential boon, and a potential threat.

In journalism and industries throughout the economy, AI has become question number one when assessing business strategy and weighing the future.

Until Nov. 3, Americans seemed to have little say in that future, as AI insinuated itself into their digital lives, and data centers sprouted across the landscape.

But data centers were roundly rejected in local voting in numerous states, and voters told pollsters that corruption and the economy were top of mind when they went to the polls. After that emphatic act of citizen democracy, the Nvidia Affair(s) lands on a very different, and highly skeptical, political landscape.

The New York Times: A Timeline of Jensen Huang’s Affairs That Upended Nvidia 
Nov. 12

The New York Times: Jensen Huang, Nvidia’s Ousted CEO, Was the Face of the A.I. Boom Powering the U.S. Economy
Nov. 12

The New York Times: Nvidia Updates: Huang’s Resignation Reverberates Through A.I. Industry 
Nov. 12

Wired: ‘Bring Back THE Boss’: Nvidia Employees Petition for Jensen Huang’s Return 
Nov. 12

Reliable Sources (CNN): Reporters exposed Nvidia CEO’s secrets
Nov. 12

The Verge: The Jensen Huang scandal is hardly over
Nov. 12

The Wall Street Journal: Jensen Huang’s Exit Will Test AI’s Stocks, and Great-Man Theory
Nov. 12

The New Yorker: Is Jensen Huang’s Affair a Crisis for the A.I. Boom?
Nov. 10

Wired: The AI Safety Debate Has Lost the Plot. We Asked 10 Experts What the Real Nightmares Are.
Nov. 10