Interesting link between this episode, which states that U.S. R&D can only beat China by being a coalition of the best minds from the rest of the world, and the recent Allied Scale episode. Which makes this administration’s stupidity all the more dumb.
These discussions focus mostly on technical issues. While that’s important, I think some non-technical factors may have a bigger impact on future R&D growth.
First, the U.S. built much of its R&D strength by attracting foreign scientists—starting with Europeans after WWII, and more recently from China and India. They came in part because of the economic disparity, and their home country was large. But that gap has shrunk, especially in China, and India may soon follow. The gains by being able to cherry pick high-quality talent from large population countries cannot be ignored
Second, people drawn to high-level R&D often come from cultures that place a strong value on academics—something less common in the U.S.
These factors need to to be included in any projections of possible outcomes
When it comes to tech-focused strategic competition, this conversation underscores the current rhetoric-reality mismatch in the administration. Whether you call it death by a thousand cuts, or a dangerous game of basic and applied R&D Jenga, the damage to critical institutions like NSF, NIH, NIST, BIS, university research, student visas, etc. etc. will not be fully realized for another 5 years or so. But when it happens, the consequences will be devastating. We're shooting ourselves in the foot, slicing a few million dollars here and there while giving the DoD another $150B. Great plan, until it's not.
Glad to see the emphasis on community colleges, vocational schools, and technical training programs. So important to local, state, and national implementation.
The Guangdong province exercise highlights something that needs to be a national conversation here in the U.S.: what Freedom's Forge looks like in the digital age. It's time to dig deeper into it.
Interesting link between this episode, which states that U.S. R&D can only beat China by being a coalition of the best minds from the rest of the world, and the recent Allied Scale episode. Which makes this administration’s stupidity all the more dumb.
These discussions focus mostly on technical issues. While that’s important, I think some non-technical factors may have a bigger impact on future R&D growth.
First, the U.S. built much of its R&D strength by attracting foreign scientists—starting with Europeans after WWII, and more recently from China and India. They came in part because of the economic disparity, and their home country was large. But that gap has shrunk, especially in China, and India may soon follow. The gains by being able to cherry pick high-quality talent from large population countries cannot be ignored
Second, people drawn to high-level R&D often come from cultures that place a strong value on academics—something less common in the U.S.
These factors need to to be included in any projections of possible outcomes
Thanks.
When it comes to tech-focused strategic competition, this conversation underscores the current rhetoric-reality mismatch in the administration. Whether you call it death by a thousand cuts, or a dangerous game of basic and applied R&D Jenga, the damage to critical institutions like NSF, NIH, NIST, BIS, university research, student visas, etc. etc. will not be fully realized for another 5 years or so. But when it happens, the consequences will be devastating. We're shooting ourselves in the foot, slicing a few million dollars here and there while giving the DoD another $150B. Great plan, until it's not.
Glad to see the emphasis on community colleges, vocational schools, and technical training programs. So important to local, state, and national implementation.
The Guangdong province exercise highlights something that needs to be a national conversation here in the U.S.: what Freedom's Forge looks like in the digital age. It's time to dig deeper into it.