Washington, May 8 (EFE).- US President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced a 3.3 billion-dollar investment by Microsoft to build a center dedicated to artificial intelligence in a move to woo voters in Wisconsin, a crucial state for Democrats in the November election.

During his speech, he promised that this new center would create new high-paying jobs and help Wisconsin's economy, allowing the state to reclaim its industrial legacy.

Biden repeatedly referred to his "predecessor" and did not mention by name former Republican President Donald Trump (2017-2021), his rival in the November election, criticizing his economic policies and the investments he promised but never delivered.

The new Microsoft center in Racine County, will be built on the same land where Trump promised in 2018 that the Taiwanese multinational Foxconn would build a 10 billion-dollar factory that never materialized.

"Eighth Wonder of the World"

Biden recalled with derision how Trump then promised the project would be the "eighth wonder of the world" and went to the excavation site with golden shovels to inaugurate the construction.

"Look what happened. They dug a hole with those golden shovels and then fell into it," Biden mocked, adding: "Foxconn turned out to be just that ? a con."

The president then said: "During the previous administration, my predecessor made promises that he broke more than he kept, leaving a lot of people behind in communities like Racine," Biden said. "On my watch, we make promises and we keep them."

According to a Microsoft statement, the construction of the new center will create 2,300 jobs in logistics work to get it up and running, and eventually up to 2,000 people will work in the data center.

In addition, Microsoft will work with Gateway Technical College in Wisconsin to train 1,000 people to work in the data center by 2030, as well as 1,000 business, civic, and government leaders to incorporate AI into their operations.

Microsoft CEO Brad Smith, who appeared before Biden, promised that the Wisconsin facility would be one of the "most advanced" centers in the world.

Wednesday's announcement adds to a series of major investments in artificial intelligence that Microsoft has announced in recent months in the US, Europe, and Asia.

Wisconsin, a key state

So far this year, this is Biden's fourth trip to Wisconsin, one of the key states for his campaign and where he beat Trump by a handful of votes in 2020, but where the Republican triumphed in the 2016 election.

Wisconsin, along with Pennsylvania and Michigan, are the so-called "blue wall" Democratic states where Trump surprised with victories in 2016 and which Biden will need to win back in 2020, making them crucial to his re-election campaign.

After the event announcing these investments, Biden plans to meet in Racine with African-American voters, a group that has voted overwhelmingly Democratic but whose support he needs to win re-election in November.

Biden's campaign launched a 14 million-dollar ad campaign Wednesday that includes a seven-figure investment in ads targeting African-American, Latino, and Asian-American voters.

It is also stepping up its November efforts and has announced that by the end of the month, it will have hired 500 new staffers and opened 200 new offices, some in areas of Michigan, Arizona, and North Carolina that have not traditionally seen Democratic investment. EFE

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