⤴⤵ Up Wing/Down Wing #21

A curated selection of pro-progress and anti-progress news items from the week that was

In case you missed it .. .

✨ The future of AI and the US economy, according to Goldman Sachs (Monday)

✨ The impact of AI and jobs: A Quick Q&A with … Daniel Rock of the Wharton School (Tuesday)

⚛ Atomic Amazon: The American nuclear revival takes another step forward (Wednesday)

✨ Daron Acemoglu: too much faith in government, too little in markets (and AI) (Friday)

---

Up Wing Things

🚀 SpaceX catches returning rocket in mid-air, turning a fanciful idea into reality (NBC)

☢️ Google is building nuclear reactors to power its AI. Google has partnered with Kairos Power to build seven small modular nuclear reactors, marking the first commercial project of its kind in the US. The reactors, providing 500 megawatts, aim to power Google’s AI data centers and contribute to 24/7 carbon-free energy. Unlike traditional reactors, Kairos uses molten fluoride salt as a coolant. The reactors are expected to go active between 2030 and 2035, with a demonstration plant set for 2027. This deal highlights the tech industry's growing role in driving nuclear power as it seeks reliable, clean energy to meet increasing demand. (WSJ)

🗽 The US economy outperforms other wealthy nations. America's economic resilience has been remarkable despite periodic challenges (such as the Global Financial Crisis) since the 1990s. So many great numbers here. While its share of the global economy in PPP terms has decreased from 21 percent to 16 percent, the US has significantly outperformed other mature economies. Its portion of G7 GDP has grown from about two-fifths to half, with per-person output now 40 percent higher than Western Europe and Canada, and 60 percent above Japan. Since 2020, cumulative US real growth has been 10 percent, tripling the G7 average. It's also the only G20 nation exceeding pre-pandemic expectations in output and employment. By the way, China's GDP has fallen from 75% percent of America's in 2021 to 65 percent now at current exchange rates, contrary to earlier predictions of it soon overtaking the US economy. (The Economist)