ALFA Field Notes

“GPUs are melting”

This was Sam Altman reacting to the impact of OpenAI's GPT-4o update, which now generates photo-realistic images within the same model that handles text and code, thus blurring lines between mediums. (We know you’ve seen them so we will spare you an example). These aren’t just generated animated pictures – they're part of AI systems that understand the world more like humans do.

Altman’s comment is illustrative because it allows us to comprehend, even visualize, how much power goes into AI and the work it does. And this is just for cartoon pictures. So, when WSJ’s Greg Ip says “Economic Growth Now Depends on Electricity, Not Oil” he’s above the target:

“Power demand, stagnant for decades, is now growing rapidly, for data centers to run artificial intelligence and other digital services and, in time, transportation and buildings.

… An economy dependent on electricity will be different from one dependent on oil. It will require mammoth investment in generation, distribution and transmission. It will challenge regulators and political leaders, as the supply and price of electricity become as politically potent as that of gasoline.

… Oil-and-gas extraction and refining contribute twice as much to gross … Oil-and-gas extraction and refining contribute twice as much to gross domestic product as utilities, but electric utilities alone invest 50% more in plant, equipment and technology.” - Greg Ip

While Ip’s piece centers on a familiar chorus you have heard from ALFA and many other corners of the policy space (that we need more electricity), it also touches on the important downstream impacts of electricity generation.

Advocacy around oil production has done a good job reminding the public that petroleum isn’t just for cars. It’s in nearly every consumer product we touch. Likewise, investing in our electricity production will have vast manufacturing, innovation, and job impacts.

In a speech on the Senate floor this week, Majority Whip Barrasso described the work he is doing to support this next generation of economic advancement:

“There is growing demand for critical minerals. America must boost our mining workforce to meet it. That is why, this week, I introduced bipartisan legislation to support our mining schools. The students we recruit, the students we train, the students we empower, the talent we unlock will fuel America’s energy dominance for generations to come. We need to fuel our success by fueling theirs.” - Senator John Barrasso

This week wasn’t about Studio Ghibli renditions of photos on our camera roll. It was a live demonstration that our economic future is wholly dependent on America creating and delivering more electricity.

DOGE out of the Dark

Last night, Fox News’ Bret Baier sat down with the leaders of DOGE who, many for the first time, were recognized for working on the government efficiency project. For all the hand-wringing over DOGE, viewers will come away with a different understanding than they have been fed by political opposition and a legacy media desperate for drama, and earn an appreciation of the work these technologists are doing.

These aren’t slash and burn corporate takeover specialists. They are people who have started and run successful businesses, employ Americans, and advance a productive economy. They have lives and families far away from Washington and are answering a call to public service to make the experience their fellow citizens have with their government easier.

This is clearly something both sides can agree is needed. During the media tour for their new book “Abundance,” author Ezra Klein detailed the maddening steps the government required for the deployment of broadband internet service to rural and other non-connected parts of the country. It had Jon Stewart pulling his hair out.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said it perfectly: The “GE” in DOGE isn’t for “government extinction” or “government elimination”, it’s “government efficiency”. While we aren’t naive enough to think one interview with quiet the critics, it does plant a flag that all fair-minded policymakers should run towards.

From the Briefing Room to the Battlefield

Earlier this week, the Senate Armed Services Committee held a closed briefing (meaning, not open to the public) on the Department of Defense’s strategy countering unmanned aerial systems.

Fortunately for us, we were given a peak of what that future might look like earlier this month. Two young companies were in Washington earlier this month at Manifest: Demo Day, the site visit that didn’t require government officials to travel more than three miles from the Capitol.

Epirus is “software-defined high-power microwave technology to counter unmanned aircraft systems, using directed energy systems to disable drones and other threats”. Here is their demonstration of the technology they demo’d:

Allen Control Systems (ACS) is “autonomous systems for military force protection, using advanced engineering to support defense against near-peer adversaries and help forces maneuver safely to complete their mission”. Here they are showing the Bullfrog autonomous weapons station:

Exposure and understanding of new technology is imperative for our policymakers as they work on proposals for the future of our military and country overall. We will continue to highlight these advances so that all briefings — even closed ones — are open to new possibilities that are being tested and proved on a daily basis.