⤴⤵ Up Wing/Down Wing #3

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

⤴ Up Wing Things

📈 In 2023, a record 5.5 million business applications were submitted in the US. While the pandemic-induced surge has slowed, the monthly average remains 80 percent above the previous decade, compared to 20 percent in Europe. What’s going on? The pandemic and shift to remote work have fueled a startup boom. The strong economy and tight job market have also encouraged risk-taking, while new technologies like AI have created opportunities for innovative startups. This has led to a virtuous cycle where innovation attracts more startups, which in turn drives further innovation. “It feels like a step-change increase across the economy in entrepreneurial potential,” says Kenan Fikri of Economic Innovation Group, a think-tank. “You never know which firm is going to be the next growth firm. So the more shots on goal you have, the better.” (The Economist)

🚀 AstroForge, a private company, aims to mine precious metals from asteroids, particularly platinum group metals, to reduce environmental damage caused by mining on Earth. The company believes that by the end of the decade, its spacecraft will bring back about 2,200 pounds of refined precious metals per mission, worth tens to hundreds of millions of dollars. The concept of asteroid mining has even been featured in the (very Up Wing) Apple TV+ series For All Mankind. (Scripps)

🤖 In a shift in Washington tech lobbying, companies and investors are pouring millions into efforts to block strict AI safety rules and shift lawmakers' focus to the geopolitical threat from China. This pro-tech, anti-China AI push, led by tech giants, wealthy new players, and influential venture capital firms, argues that AI is a crucial business opportunity and that strict safety rules would hand America's AI edge to China, causing key lawmakers to back off their worried rhetoric about the technology.

The full-court press is having an impact. Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.), another senator in Schumer’s bipartisan AI group, told POLITICO that many in Congress have abandoned their once-fearful tone about the technology’s rapid development. “I think the more people learn about some of these [AI] models, the more comfortable they are that the steps our government has already taken are by-and-large appropriate steps,” Young told POLITICO. (Politico)