New Energy, New Defenses, New Thinking

Nuclear Energy Moves Forward

Last week, President Trump signed several Executive Orders that would streamline nuclear energy development to produce abundant and reliable energy needed to power our future. Here is some of what they intend to do:

Speed Over Stagnation 

18 months — that's the new ceiling for nuclear reactor licensing—down from decade-long bureaucratic death marches. The NRC now faces hard deadlines and fee caps that prioritize progress over process.

From Blueprint to Baseload 

The President called for three pilot small modular reactors reaching criticality by July 4, 2026. Other goals include a reactor powering an Army base by September 2028.

The order lays out a goal to generate 400 gigawatts of nuclear by 2050 —a five-fold increase that would cement American energy dominance precisely when AI computational demands are exploding.

Fuel Independence

Twenty tons of HALEU released, private fuel recycling authorized, and domestic uranium enrichment expanded is how the order plans to fuel this development. It also authorizes at least 20 new nuclear export agreements, transforming America from nuclear supplicant to nuclear superpower.

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These EO’s came on the heels of the House of Representatives making changes to their reconciliation bill at the eleventh hour that would ease the impact of expiring energy tax credits — specifically 45U — by maintaining the full value of the credit up to the expiring year in 2031, as opposed to earlier versions which drew down the credit leading up to 2031.

Together, the administration and Congress have signaled that new nuclear energy must be a part of our energy portfolio. It might not be the full solution but it is clear these are powerful signals to the market (key for continued to development) that we are on the doorstep of abundant energy supply.

Vibe Coding Is More Than Marketing

On Wednesday, the a16z podcast released a podcast that was much anticipated by your ALFA host. It featured a conversation with legendary music producer Rick Rubin, and was recorded just a day or so after his book "The Way of Code: The Timeless Art of Vibe Coding” was released.

Rick is a tremendous example for staffers. As a producer, his job is to guide the artist to make the best record. As a staffer, your job is to guide your boss or team to produce impactful results. So, I’ve always looked up to Rubin and viewed my job on the Hill as a producer.

The term vibe coding has emerged over the past few months to describe building with AI tools, and Rick almost instantly became the meme representing it. “Learn to code” no more. Now, an AI can do it for you.

But you still need to have something to say. Something you want to build. And how you think and communicate is still paramount.

Does the term sound like the latest AI marketing? Yes. Is the “Way of Code” a bit tough to get through? It is.

But listening to th conversation reminded me of why Rubin is such an inspirational guy. And what he has to say about AI is quite profound.

AI is a tool. It’s not the end all, be all. Humans are. And as a tool, AI has the opportunity to allow us to do so much more than we could have done 2 years ago. From the parent setting up a website for their kids sports team, to the small business looking for a fresh design, to the fisherman with an idea to measure the amount and health of fish in a lake — AI democratizes the previously high technical barriers which open countless doors of opportunity.

This is an important but difficult message to deliver. After all, surveys show AI is still upside down on public perception. And as we chronicled, the vast, vast amount of individual comments to the WH AI Action Plan were quite negative.

To date, you often hear about AI in very clinical ways. On one side you hear about energy needs and competing with China. On the other — threats about potential white collar job losses. All are very well true and we are just as guilty as anyone in talking about it through this lens.

But if we really want to ease the concerns of Americans of the impending impacts of AI and inspire its adoption for a more productive and creative society, we need to start telling better stories. We need to inspire all generations that a more democratized digital future isn’t just for the tech companies. It’s for everyone.

-Sparks

Here’s a photo that seemed unlikely. The rift between Palmer Luckey and Meta has been quite public over the years after Palmer was fired from the company just three years after it acquired his VR company, Oculus for $2 billion. This event drove Palmer to create Anduril, the dynamic defense company that is growing in its dominance of advanced defense systems.

Now, the companies are teaming up to make AR and VR systems for the military. Named EagleEye, the WSJ reported the partnership will develop capabilities that would be able to, “detect drones flying miles away or sighting hidden targets and let soldiers operate and interact with AI-powered weapon systems.” Anduril’s autonomy software and Meta’s AI models will underpin the devices.

Earlier this year, Anduril took over the Army AR contract from Microsoft and everyone imagined what would come next. After all, Palmer’s first creation was a VR headset and the systems Anduril introduces are incredible. But Meta has proven to be a key player in AR and VR technology and the partnership will surely level up American warfighters — which goes to show that building for your country can mend all fences.