In a speech delivered at the Endless Frontiers Retreat in Austin, Texas, Michael Kratsios, Trump’s new director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy and chief science adviser, painted a compelling portrait of America’s drift away from its once world-leading pace of innovation. Kratsios lamented an America burdened by bureaucracy and a “regulatory regime opposed to innovation and development” where “stagnation [is] a choice.”
Kratsios’s speech was at times provocative. At one point, he commented on America’s perhaps unrealized technological capabilities, stating, “Our technologies permit us to manipulate time and space. They leave distance annihilated, cause things to grow, and improve productivity.” “We are capable of doing so much more,” he said.
Characteristically, President Trump delivered an equally provocative remark during an April 10 Oval Office press conference, hinting at America’s technological edge in weaponry. “We have a weapon that no one has a clue what it is. And this is the most powerful weapon in the world, which is more powerful than anyone’s, it’s not even close,” he said.
Kratsios’s and…
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