The “special relationship” between the United Kingdom and United States goes back to World War II, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt helped Great Britain remain in the fight against Nazi Germany by providing the British with weapons under the Lend-Lease program.
As Prime Minister Winston Churchill told FDR, “Give us the tools and we’ll finish the job.”
Had the United States not partnered with Great Britain in this manner, it is quite possible that the war could have turned out very differently.
More than eight decades later, the United States and United Kingdom are teaming up again. This time, the mutual objective is to cooperate “in science and technology capabilities and standards to usher in the next Golden Age of Innovation to fortify freedom and prosperity for generations to come.”
Specifically, the United States and Great Britain seek to accelerate AI innovation, unleash civil nuclear energy, secure quantum computing advantage, and ensure that foundations for frontier innovations are in place.
No doubt, these are laudable goals. Moreover, it is of paramount importance considering that adversarial nations like China and Russia are engaged in a similar partnership with nearly identical goals.
In other words, if the U.S.-U.K. technology alliance is not successful in leading the world into the quantum age, we could live in a future world dominated by ruthless actors.
As of now, the West, particularly Great Britain, is at a great disadvantage due to idiotic energy policy.
For decades, Great Britain has pursued national energy suicide via policies like net zero. Making matters worse, the United Kingdom has also prematurely and unnecessarily retired nuclear power stations in recent decades.
In the late 1990s, Great Britain’s domestic nuclear energy production peaked at nearly 13,000 Megawatts. Today, it is less than half that amount: about 5,800 Megawatts. America’s nuclear energy production has also declined slightly since a high point in 2011.
While the West has rejected abundant, reliable, and affordable conventional energy sources like coal and natural gas, it has vastly increased its dependence on renewable, intermittent energy sources like wind and solar.
This presents a massive and dangerous dilemma. If nations pursue net zero emissions, they are also severely handicapping the development of AI, quantum computing, and other future technologies.
Like it or not, but mammoth data centers, which are a prerequisite for AI and quantum computing domination, require a constant stream of reliable energy. At present, this energy can only come from conventional sources and nuclear; wind and solar simply do not have the capability to provide enough of a stable supply to meet the huge energy demand of frontier technologies.
Fortunately, the United Kingdom and United States recognize this fundamental fact of life. As such, the two nations have agreed “to lead the world in a nuclear sector that will play a defining role in the future of energy, security, and economic might.”
According to the newly signed agreement, the United States and United Kingdom will “pursue collaborative initiatives in the areas of advanced nuclear reactors, advanced nuclear fuels, and fusion energy.”
Specifically, the Technology Prosperity Deal includes facilitating “commercial partnerships while identifying and addressing market barriers to accelerate the deployment of advanced nuclear reactors in both the U.S. and the UK… ensuring a secure and reliable supply chain for advanced nuclear fuels in both countries, and achieving full independence from Russian nuclear fuel by the end of 2028… facilitating coordination of research, development, and use of experimental facilities and data, including through AI, to lay the path toward cost-competitive fusion power plants” and “leading development of harmonized, responsible, pro-innovation policy and regulation to support the emergence of a U.S. and UK-led global fusion energy market.”
This forward-looking energy approach relies upon climate realism, market forces, innovation, and technological breakthroughs versus the climate alarmist approach that feeds on panic, based upon the myth that conventional energy sources and nuclear power are harmful to the environment and must be replaced in order to avoid global Armageddon.
Make no mistake, humanity is on the cusp of the quantum age.
If we want the good guys to win the AI arms race, rather than the bad guys in Russia and China, we must embrace sound energy policy predicated upon science, facts, and data, not feelings and fearmongering.
The views expressed in this opinion article are those of their author and are not necessarily either shared or endorsed by the owners of this website. If you are interested in contributing an Op-Ed to The Western Journal, you can learn about our submission guidelines and process here.
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