⤴⤵ Up Wing/Down Wing #25

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

In case you missed it .. .

⚠ How disruptive would a Chinese invasion of Taiwan be? (Monday)

☢️ Germany’s lost nuclear decade: A Quick Q&A with … energy researcher Jan Emblemsvåg (Tuesday)

🏫 A DARPA for education (Wednesday)

🏘️ My chat (+transcript) with economist Bryan Caplan on density and housing deregulation (Thursday)

📉 Well, they ran the numbers on degrowth — and it's not good (Friday)

---

Up Wing Things

👷 AI demands are boosting US construction. Private construction spending on AI data centers has surged to $30 billion annually, more than doubling since OpenAI’s ChatGPT launch in late 2022. The data center sector now outpaces spending on hotels, retail, and leisure, reflecting AI’s rising computational demands. Global data center investments are also projected to expand dramatically:

The US is leading a surge of investment in data centers, with global spending on track to reach $250 billion a year according to money manager KKR & Co. The industry is benefiting from the development of AI and its need for computational power on an ever-larger scale. (Bberg)

☢️ The US government plans to triple its nuclear power capacity. The Biden administration has unveiled a plan to triple US nuclear power capacity by 2050, adding 200 gigawatts to meet growing demand for carbon-free energy driven by AI and industrial needs. This includes 35 gigawatts of new capacity by 2035 through new reactors, plant upgrades, and restarts. The initiative, supported by President-elect Trump, aligns with a global pledge to triple nuclear capacity by mid-century. Bipartisan support and regulatory reforms aim to streamline reactor licensing and fuel development. Companies like Microsoft and Amazon are showing renewed interest in nuclear energy​. (Bberg)

🔬 Scientists push for new initiative to boost cutting-edge research. The Research and Innovation at the Scientific Edge initiative, backed by scientists and ex-intelligence officials, urges White House support for groundbreaking research in frontier areas like quantum computing, consciousness studies, and Indigenous knowledge-based tools. Advocates argue that RISE can help the US maintain its technological edge over competitors like China, which invests heavily in similar fields. RISE aims to counter stigmas and bureaucratic obstacles, like over-classification, that hinder unconventional research. RISE leaders believe presidential support, as seen in the 1960s space race, could help advance US innovation. (The Debrief)