In 1962, Kennedy said
"We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard."
On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the lunar surface. The world changed. According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), "we all enjoy many benefits that resulted from the scientific investment and endeavors." Nonetheless, the role of NASA has diminished in recent years and private companies now conduct most American space launches.
From its era of engagement, the Mercury, Apollo, and shuttle programs, NASA claims credit for a variety of enhancements to our modern lives, a mere 50 years post Apollo. These range
"from solar panels to implantable heart monitors, from cancer therapy to lightweight materials, and from water‐purification systems to improved computing systems and to a global search‐and‐rescue system."
When I was a kid, they also pushed things like the advent of powdered drinks, such as Tang, dehydrated food, and more as products of the space program. That affiliation and astronaut idolization did not hurt sales of such products, but NASA did not invent them.
For a generation of Americans, NASA is nonetheless synonymous with progress. There have been many astronauts and mission specialists who leveraged their relationship with the program into commercial success, along with the various products and processes noted above.
This all came to mind this week when the Associated Press (AP) reported that the President has signed another executive order; this one ordering collaboration on Artificial Intelligence (AI). The project will be "called Genesis Mission" with a goal of "boost(ing) scientific discoveries." He has likened it to the moon mission, and some see a parallel in the audacious nature of that goal, time, and spirit.
That said, there will be those who do not see the parallel. The moon is a rather patent and persistent part of our life. A goal directed at it, leveraging it, is a bit more easily visualized than AI.
Essentially, however, this executive order is a government buy-in for AI. The resources and expertise already in government service will "combine efforts with tech companies and universities to convert government data into scientific discoveries."
The fact is, the government already has a great volume of computing capacity. More is on the way. See Singularity (March 2025). But while we wait on the quantum chips and the astounding predicted increase in speed and capacity, the government already has some of the fastest and most agile computers available.
The government has been a longtime investor. There are literally thousands of college professors who have subsisted and thrived on the revenue streams of government grants. They have premises, processes, equipment, time, and more; much of that, you already paid for.
This order sets the agenda for collaboration between free market innovators (who may have or want government contracts), government resources (already working and building), and academic intellect (that has enjoyed the flow of tax and grant dollars). This may not be the combination "most likely to" develop the next "it" game or app, but it may be the ideal collaboration for building a foundation for the developers to construct the next big thing(s).
The focus will be on solving "engineering, energy and national security problems, including streamlining the nation’s electric grid." The point will be identifying challenges and collaborating to work us through, over, or around them. This could impact a variety of endeavors, industries, and interests.
Like the space program effect in the 1960s, this could see the advent of new technology to fill needs, the adaptation of existing technology, or more imaginative implementation or deployment of existing devices, products, or processes.
There is anticipation that tech in general, and AI specifically, will drive the evolution of the U.S. economy. This will bring direct change in the evolution and deployment of AI. However, there will be leverage impacts in a spectrum of industries, vocations, and professions.
Some will say that comparing the present to the challenge of the space program is an embellishment. However, if anything, AI and robotics will be a much bigger revolution than any we have seen. The impacts of today and tomorrow will literally dwarf the space program and its impacts.
We will do it "not because they are easy" or hard, but because the collective motivation of market capitalism demands and rewards efficiency and efficacy. AI and robotics will deliver both in volumes and impact never seen before. And you will have the choice to sit on the curb and watch this parade, or to get up and join in.