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Category: economics

Biomass-derived furans offer sustainable alternative to petroleum in chemical production

A research project conducted by the Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung shows how biomass can be used as a raw material for chemical products instead of petroleum. The scientists have published their findings in the journal Science.

The chemical industry is facing major challenges: for reasons of CO2 neutrality, circular economy, and geopolitical instability, there is a desire to move away from petroleum and other fossil materials as raw materials for the production of high-quality chemicals. But how will molecular building blocks for essential medicines, for example, be obtained in the future?

John Forbes Nash Jr

(June 13, 1928 – May 23, 2015), known and published as John Nash, was an American mathematician who made fundamental contributions to game theory, real algebraic geometry, differential geometry, and partial differential equations. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] Nash and fellow game theorists John Harsanyi and Reinhard Selten were awarded the 1994 Nobel Prize in Economics. [ 3 ] In 2015, Louis Nirenberg and he were awarded the Abel Prize for their contributions to the field of partial differential equations.

As a graduate student in the Princeton University Department of Mathematics, Nash introduced a number of concepts (including the Nash equilibrium and the Nash bargaining solution), which are now considered central to game theory and its applications in various sciences. In the 1950s, Nash discovered and proved the Nash embedding theorems by solving a system of nonlinear partial differential equations arising in Riemannian geometry. This work, also introducing a preliminary form of the Nash–Moser theorem, was later recognized by the American Mathematical Society with the Leroy P. Steele Prize for Seminal Contribution to Research. Ennio De Giorgi and Nash found, with separate methods, a body of results paving the way for a systematic understanding of elliptic and parabolic partial differential equations.

Ideal Wealth Grower

The Age of Abundance: AGI Predictions and Investment Strategy for 2026 ## The imminent emergence of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) will significantly impact investment strategies, and investors should prepare by accumulating valuable assets, diversifying their portfolios, and adopting a strategic investment approach to capitalize on the growth potential of AGI and the resulting Age of Abundance ##

## Questions to inspire discussion.

Investment Strategy.

🎯 Q: How should I build an investment portfolio for the AGI era? A: Focus on companies with best management and growth potential in AGI, robotics, and space industries using dollar-cost averaging strategy to systematically build positions over time rather than lump-sum investing.

💰 Q: What alternative assets should I accumulate for security during AGI transition? A: Accumulate gold, silver, and Bitcoin as modern safe havens to protect wealth during periods of change and uncertainty as traditional financial systems adapt to AGI disruption.

🏢 Q: Why should real estate be overweighted in an AGI-focused portfolio? A: Overweight real estate compared to company ownership and reserves because AGI and robotics industries will require physical space for operations, data centers, and manufacturing facilities.

Continue reading “Ideal Wealth Grower” | >

EXLUMINA Founder: SpaceX Already Controls the Future of Space AI

SpaceX is well-positioned to dominate the future of space AI due to its innovative technologies, scalable satellite production, and strategic partnerships, which will enable it to efficiently deploy and operate a massive network of satellites with advanced computing capabilities ## ## Questions to inspire discussion.

Launch Economics & Infrastructure.

🚀 Q: Why is Starship essential for space AI data centers? A: Starship enables 100-1000x more satellites than Falcon 9, making orbital AI economically viable through massive scaling and lower launch costs, while Falcon 9 remains too expensive for commercial viability at scale.

🛰️ Q: What is SpaceX’s deployment plan for AI satellites? A: SpaceX plans Starlink version 3 satellites with 100 Nvidia chips each, deploying 5,000 satellites via 100 Starship launches at 50 satellites per flight to create a gigawatt-scale AI constellation by early 2030s.

📈 Q: What launch cadence gives SpaceX its advantage? A: SpaceX plans 10,000 annual launches and produces satellites at 10-100x the level of competitors, creating a monopoly on launch and manufacturing that positions them as the gatekeeper to space AI success.

Energy & Power Systems.

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Ray Dalio: AI Is Accelerating the Collapse — Most People Aren’t Ready for What’s Next

With rapid advancements in AI and automation, individuals must prepare for a potentially unstable future by building financial strength, adapting to change, and rethinking traditional economic policies to avoid societal collapse ## ## Questions to inspire discussion.

Financial Preparation.

💰 Q: How should I structure my finances to build wealth? A: Focus on the fundamental equation: earn minus spend equals save, then invest that saved amount wisely to determine your financial success, as this simple formula is the foundation of building financial strength.

🏃 Q: When should I consider relocating geographically? A: Evaluate your location during major financial shifts and changing world orders, as the ability to move to better places and away from bad places has been historically important for protecting wealth and opportunity.

Career Strategy.

🎯 Q: How do I choose a career that maximizes financial success? A: Select careers that align with your passions while understanding their financial implications, since the work you do will directly impact your financial success during economic transitions.

Continue reading “Ray Dalio: AI Is Accelerating the Collapse — Most People Aren’t Ready for What’s Next” | >

SpaceX IPO, Robotaxi Rules, and the Regulatory Wall Facing Elon Musk

Regulatory hurdles, rather than engineering challenges, are the main obstacles hindering the progress and success of Elon Musk’s companies, including SpaceX and Tesla.

## Questions to inspire discussion.

SpaceX Strategic Direction.

🚀 Q: Will SpaceX IPO due to defense contractor requirements? A: SpaceX’s expanding role as a defense contractor through projects like Star Shield increases IPO likelihood, as military requirements typically favor public companies for transparency and accountability according to Palmer Luckey.

🛰️ Q: How is SpaceX enabling freedom of information in restricted regions? A: Starlink has provided unfiltered internet access to Iranians since 2022 in coordination with the US government, successfully resisting signal jamming attempts and enabling freedom of information during protests.

💰 Q: What investment level is the space economy attracting in 2025? A: The space economy attracted $2.2 trillion in private investment in 2025, driven by SpaceX’s success, but viability of speculative models like space hotels and mining depends entirely on Starship’s cost and reliability.

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Post-Human Economics

With the rise of AGI, the need for Primal eye theory and the understanding of our form of sentience becomes greater than ever if we who are “Born of Nature” are to remain relevant.

Which is, of course, my doing. I’ve been working on a couple of big projects across the summer; time has been, to say the least, at a premium. The real point is: both projects have major implications for the future of this newsletter. I can’t wait to share more on all that in the coming weeks.

In the meantime, though, I’ve still been writing a whole lot. As most of you know, along with Raoul Pal I run The Exponentialist, a community focused on emerging technologies and their economic, social, and human implications.

In this special update, then, I’d like to share a recent essay from The Exponentialist. One that allows you a glimpse of the kind of work I do there. And that articulates an set of idea that are at the heart of my current thinking when it comes to our journey into the decades ahead.

El Niño and La Niña synchronize global droughts and floods, study finds

Water extremes such as droughts and floods have a huge impact on communities, ecosystems, and economies. Researchers with The University of Texas at Austin have turned their attention to tracking these extremes across Earth and have discovered what is driving them.

In a recent study published in AGU Advances, the researchers found that over the past two decades ENSO, a climate pattern in the equatorial Pacific Ocean that includes El Niño and La Niña, has been the dominant driver of total water storage extremes at the global level. What’s more, the researchers found that ENSO has a synchronizing effect on water storage extremes across continents.

Study co-author Bridget Scanlon, a research professor at the Bureau of Economic Geology at the UT Jackson School of Geosciences, said that understanding how extremes unfold across the world has humanitarian and policy impacts.

Global AI Adoption in 2025 — AI Economy Institute

Global adoption of artificial intelligence continued to rise in the second half of 2025, increasing by 1.2 percentage points compared to the first half of the year, with roughly one in six people worldwide now using generative AI tools, remarkable progress for a technology that only recently entered mainstream use.

To track this trend, we measure AI diffusion as the share of people worldwide who have used a generative AI product during the reported period. This measure is derived from aggregated and anonymized Microsoft telemetry and then adjusted to reflect differences in OS and device-market share, internet penetration, and country population. Additional details on the methodology are available in our AI Diffusion technical paper. 1

No single metric is perfect, and this one is no exception. Through the Microsoft AI Economy Institute, we continue to refine how we measure AI diffusion globally, including how adoption varies across countries in ways that best advance priorities such as scientific discovery and productivity gains. For this report, we rely on the strongest cross-country measure available today, and we expect to complement it over time with additional indicators as they emerge and mature.

Gubernatorial Candidate Promises ROBOTS To Every Californian… Is Cenk Buying it?

Here’s my full 30-min interview from yesterday with Cenk Uygur on TYT! We cover a lot of things: superintelligence, Basic Income, my Automated Abundance Economy, and my California Governor run.

Cenk Uygur and Zoltan Istvan discuss the future of AI and California on The Young Turks. Do you agree with TYT’s take? Tell us what you think in the comments below. SUBSCRIBE today: ☞ https://go.tyt.com/ytsubscribe.

Get paid to use your phone less! Switch to Noble Mobile today: https://go.tyt.com/mobile.

CHAPTERS:
0:00 Zoltan Istvan on running as a Democrat.
0:45 Transhumanist party.
2:30 Zoltan on AI & technology.
9:50 No corporate or Israel lobby money.
10:20 Zoltan’s policy priorities.
11:40 Robots for every Californian?!
14:00 Universal basic income.
23:00 Taxing robots?!
25:50 Reaching across the aisle.
28:00 AI revolution.

🔥 Tired of corporate media? Get honest news and bold commentary with TYT.

Continue reading “Gubernatorial Candidate Promises ROBOTS To Every Californian… Is Cenk Buying it?” | >

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