In one episode of Inside Bill's Brain, the documentary about Bill Gates, we're shown a revolutionary nuclear reactor design. It's efficient, modular, and meltdown-proof. The worst-case scenario? It simply shuts down. No explosion, no disaster, just a pause.
This kind of innovation isn't theoretical. It's real, and it's exactly what we need to meet the energy demands of AI. Because make no mistake, AI will require orders of magnitude more electricity than we use today. Data centres, model training, edge devices, robotics, and automation all depend on massive power. And lots of it.
But we're still dragging around a Cold War-era fear of nuclear energy, rooted in disasters like Chernobyl. Here's the truth: being afraid of nuclear today is like refusing to stream Netflix because you once owned a Betamax tape. The RBMK reactor that caused the Chernobyl meltdown was a relic of 1960s Soviet engineering. Even in the 1980s, it lacked the fail-safes that were already standard across much of the western world. Modern nuclear technology isn't just better, it exists in a completely different universe of safety.
So why are we still regulating it like it's the mid-20th century?
This administration is enthusiastic about deregulation, but often in the wrong places. Instead of gutting environmental protections or fast-tracking fossil fuel projects, we should be streamlining the path for next-generation nuclear infrastructure. Not recklessly, but intelligently. Pair smart deregulation with clear safety oversight and serious investment, and we could unlock a revolution in clean, reliable, scalable energy.
What if we redirected just a fraction of the $1 trillion military budget toward this effort?
What if we prioritised infrastructure that enables intelligence, learning, health, and human flourishing, rather than just weapons?
Eisenhower saw the choice clearly back in 1953, in his Chance for Peace speech:
"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies… a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed."
He called for "atoms for peace."
Today, we need atoms for progress.
Because building a world where AI works for us, not just with us, means investing in the energy that powers it. Not dirty, extractive energy. Not energy from far-off wars or unstable grids. But energy that is clean, safe, and scalable.
The kind of energy that could quietly power a better future, for all of us.