ALFA Field Notes

Leading voices against Biden’s AI diffusion rule and over-regulation

Two of the leading technology minds have recent comments on the current regulatory state surrounding AI.

Brad Gerstner, founder and CEO of Altimeter Capital and co-host of the BG2 podcast, stated on the latest episode:

A couple weeks earlier, Peter Thiel appeared on Dave Rubin’s podcast and mentioned the perils of AI over-regulation:

We have expressed in detail why the Biden-era AI Diffusion rule is the wrong approach for America’s continued leadership in the AI race. While the public comments of the proposed rule will not be made public until the comment period ends, policymakers should heed the warnings from both Gerstner and Thiel on where our technological leadership could end up if we pursue the Biden-era approach.

Greening the Desert

Over the weekend, aerial footage of lush farmland amidst the Chinese desert went viral. We can’t verify the authenticity of the particular images captured in the post below, but late last year the Economist did publish a piece on the “green Great Wall”, which has been pursued in China to help reverse desertification. Other credible reports of China’s weather modification programs also abound.

These latest images, however, evoked wonder and ambition from some politicians and even Elon Musk.

But if you stumbled across the post over the weekend, you almost certainly saw it accompanied by comments from Augustus Doricko, founder of cloud-seeding company, Rainmaker. Augustus has described Rainmaker as a company that: “is making earth habitable by adding more rain and snow in arid environments, using advanced remote sensing to find the right cloud to seed, then flying in our own anti-icing drones, spraying silver iodide to freeze liquid in the cloud... which melt back into rain."

Permitting and licensing for cloud seeding is in place in Texas, Idaho, Utah, New Mexico, and California. Yet, the practice and deployment of new technologies isn’t without its skeptics. Which is why Augustus has traveled to statehouses from Florida to Tennessee to testify against proposed bans on weather modification.

A robust debate on the merits, current science, and proper guardrails around weather modification and cloud seeding cannot be covered in one newsletter. But if one thing is clear, it’s that Augustus has demonstrated patience and diligence in talking with policymakers so that smart governance means establishing frameworks for responsible innovation—not prohibition.

A final point: food and water security is national security. The question isn't whether weather modification happens, but whether America will harness it for more habitable land and abundant agriculture. Surely, China and other ambitious nations will. Water abundance through American ingenuity isn't just possible—it's essential. We need more innovators willing to weather regulatory storms while creating literal ones.

Energy Reliability on the Hill

• This morning, the House Energy and Commerce Committee will hold a hearing on the reliability of our grid with testimony from Regional Transmission Operators (RTO)and Independent System Operators (ISO), as well as ERCOT, which operates exclusively in Texas. The committee seeks to understand how we plan “to meet the growing demand for power by AI, manufacturing, and electrification.”

• Back in 2012 Congress passed the “Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act” — known as the JOBS Act, which focused on providing small businesses and entrepreneurs more avenues to access capital. The effort to expand entrepreneurial activity beyond the traditional corridors such as Silicon Valley and Boston continues today with the Financial Services Committee holding a hearing that will touch on over three dozen bills the committee has in the queue that are intended to give more startups a chance to succeed.

• You’ll continue to hear us talk about Secretary Burgum’s “Map, Baby, Map'“ initiative, and Wednesday’s hearing at the Science, Space, and Technology Committee will receive testimony from companies and scientists that could very well contribute to our understanding of what assets lie beneath America’s seabed.