Why The CHIPS Bill May Be A Turning Point For Innovation In America
Excerpt:
Vannevar Bush’s vision during World War II helped the United States become a leader in science and technology. The Cold War helped further that notion that government should invest in science as a public good for private benefit. So, in a sense, maybe it shouldn’t be surprising that when we became a lone superpower, we got thrown off our game.
Yet a rising China and, to a certain extent, the role of science in developing vaccines to help end the pandemic, have served as a new organizing principle. Just as the Soviet launch of Sputnik helped make a political case for the massive investment in the space program, today’s rising superpower has the potential to push us to greater things.
While most of the attention surrounding the recently signed CHIPS Act has been focused on semiconductors, only $54 billion, or less than a quarter of the $280 million, goes to making computer chips. The vast majority will be invested in research, industrial capacity and workforce development, all of which are sorely needed.
We need to come to terms with what an incredible disappointment the digital revolution has been. It left the average American poorer, sicker and less happy than a generation ago. Today, with vastly more powerful technologies, including synthetic…
