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Will Stargate liftoff?
The internet has been abuzz with the talks of President Trumps new Stargate AI Project. Not to be confused with the 90’s sci-fi classic of the same name, Stargate AI Project is a proposed infastructure plan by Donald Trump and company. The project has many hurdles to overcome and is set to either be the greatest or worst investment in American history. It’s said to be a $500 billion project that will enhance the infrastructure of AI here in the US. They claim that they will build 10 datacenters, create 100,000 jobs, and find the Lost Ark (maybe not the last one). With all the hype, it’s easy to wonder if it will actually take-off.
Potential Hurdles
President Trump has partnered with 4 major companies (OpenAI, SoftBank, Oracle, and MGX) that have contributed $100 billion to the project already, and new funds are expected to become available. To understand whether or not this will work, we have to look at overlapping policies that may set Trump (and the US) up for failure. Like any capable Software Engineer, lets break down the requirements.
The Money
Stargate AI Project is said to be a $500 billion project, but where is the rest of the money? Trump claims that the money will come from other sources, one of which is SoftBank and Musk has allegedly stated that he doubts SoftBank has access to those kinds of resources at all. The remaining $400 billion is no small investment and will require considerable effort. Previous largescale Trump projects met many walls (pun intended) in terms of funding. His border-wall project was originally quoted at costing a mere $12 billion and instead is conservatively estimated to have cost closer to $25 billion — a project he insisted would be paid for by Mexico.
If President Trumps $12 billion wall project more than doubled in it’s projection and he’s an ‘expert’ in construction, what will be the financial fate of this $500 billion one? I don’t gamble, but the odds aren’t looking good.
Energy
The energy grid is already spread thin in many metropolitan areas in the US. Cities like: New York, Phoenix and LA already…
