AI, Power, and Sovereignty: Navigating the Exponential Era

The Week That Was: May 16-23, 2025

NOTE: “The Week That Was” is a recap of ideas shared over the last seven days.

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What got my attention in 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙒𝙚𝙚𝙠 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙒𝙖𝙨?

From 𝙀𝙑𝙊𝙇𝙑𝙀 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙜𝙡𝙤𝙗𝙖𝙡 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙜𝙮 𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙛𝙩𝙨, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝘼𝙄 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙜𝙮 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙨 𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙜𝙧𝙞𝙙 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙨, 𝙙𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙐.𝙎.–𝘾𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙖 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙨, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙝 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙞𝙘𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙟𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨, there has been plenty to discuss over the last week.

• The American and Chinese 𝗔𝗜 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘀. In the U.S., power availability is increasingly the limiting factor to data center buildout. 𝗜𝗻 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗮, 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗶𝗱𝗹𝘆, 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝗶𝘅 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀.

• 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗽 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘂𝘀 𝗘𝗩𝗢𝗟𝗩𝗘 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲, highlighting AI’s rising role, gas-fired power’s centrality, and growing interest in reliable low-carbon alternatives like geothermal.

• As countries consider their sovereign AI strategies, 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙝 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙨𝙚?

• 𝗣𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗺𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀—like compute growth, efficiency gains, and capital intensity—but the unpredictability of exponential outcomes makes it difficult to pin down just how big or fast this load will hit the grid.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀, 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗮𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸? Please share in the comments for all of us!

Have a great week!

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