⤴⤵ Up Wing/Down Wing #27

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

In case you missed it .. .

🚀 Missions to Mars: A Quick Q&A with … space analyst Peter Hague (Tuesday)

🧪 The US productivity problem that no one talks about (enough) (Wednesday)

✨🤖 Age of AI, meet the Robot Revolution (Friday)

---

Up Wing Things

🧪 AI is redefining R&D. By accelerating product development, reducing costs, and enhancing innovation across industries, AI is being used to revolutionize innovation. Technologies like generative AI, digital twins, and cloud computing enable faster prototyping, personalized solutions, and optimized manufacturing. McKinsey reports that AI can boost product performance by up to 60 percent and cut time to market by 40 percent. Experts emphasize integrating AI as a collaborative tool alongside human expertise to enhance productivity and ensure competitive advantage. Emerging technologies like quantum computing could further transform R&D by improving material discoveries and diagnostics. (FT)

🦾 Neuralink launched a new study to control robotic arms with the mind. Neuralink’s new feasibility trial, the CONVOY Study, extends its brain-computer interface (BCI) research to control assistive robotic arms. This builds on its ongoing PRIME Study, which tests its N1 Implant in patients with quadriplegia. In January 2024, Noland Arbaugh became the first human recipient of Neuralink’s implant, enabling him to control devices with his thoughts, despite some medical setbacks. Neuralink has since improved the implant and expanded trials internationally, with Health Canada recently approving a study at Toronto’s University Health Network. (The Debrief)

☢️ This startup’s reactors are run on molten salt. Kairos Power, an advanced nuclear startup, is progressing with its next-generation reactors using molten salt cooling technology, rather than the conventional pressurized water. It received a permit for Hermes 2, the first next-gen US nuclear plant to produce electricity, alongside Hermes 1. Kairos plans construction for both facilities simultaneously, aiming for deployment by 2030. The company has also partnered with Google to deliver 500 MW of power by 2035 and began building a molten salt production facility. These steps highlight Kairos’s strategy of incremental innovation to achieve cost-effective, safe nuclear energy. (MIT)