How We'll Automate Discovery Itself

Editor's note: The next chapter of the AI race isn't unfolding in Silicon Valley. It's happening inside one of America's most advanced, federally funded laboratories. In this issue, MarketWise CEO Dr. David "Doc" Eifrig explains why a new government initiative could reshape scientific discovery... and create huge opportunities for investors.

In the quiet, mist-covered ridges of East Tennessee, armed guards and miles of razor wire protect one of the government's top research facilities.

For more than 80 years, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory has been where the U.S. turns when the stakes are existential.

It's where the Manhattan Project learned how to split the atom.

It's where uranium enrichment moved from theory to industrial reality.

Today, the facility is humming with a modern-day "Manhattan Project"... a complete reset of America's AI industry.

At the heart of this effort sits Oak Ridge's crown jewel, Frontier, one of the world's most powerful supercomputers.

Frontier can perform more than a quintillion calculations per second – a number so large it borders on meaningless.

But to put it in context... if every human on Earth performed one calculation per second, nonstop, it would take more than four years to reach a quintillion calculations.

Frontier's computer system can store 33 times the amount of data that's in the entire Library of Congress.

Frontier is a beast of a machine. But Oak Ridge's next development will dwarf it.

It's called Genesis...

America's Biggest AI Project Is Underway

The plan isn't just to build a bigger supercomputer. It's to connect them all.

The U.S. Department of Energy ("DOE") has more than 400 supercomputers at 17 national laboratories across the country. To create Genesis, a specialized, ultra-high-speed fiber network will link all of them to Frontier.

From elite laboratories like Lawrence Livermore in California to Argonne in Illinois, Genesis will create a single, unified platform.

It's difficult to think about the potential power of Genesis. But imagine 17 of the smartest people on Earth working in unison suddenly being able to share thoughts instantly.

To be clear, Genesis isn't just trying to create a supercool version of ChatGPT. It's a machine designed to automate discovery itself.

Consider the field of medicine...

Traditionally, developing a new drug takes more than a decade and costs billions of dollars. Most drug companies fail. And 90% of drugs don't make it out of clinical trials.

Genesis will be able to simulate the interaction of billions of molecules in days. This has the potential to cure diseases that have plagued us for generations.

Along with biotechnology, Genesis will try to innovate several other industries... including nuclear fission and fusion, critical materials, quantum science, advanced manufacturing, and semiconductors.

The stated goals for Genesis are ambitious, to say the least... Take 10 years of AI progress and force it to happen in 10 months, or less.

Now, I've always been something of an AI skeptic.

The Genesis project has the possibility of beating China to artificial general intelligence – a superintelligent AI that can function on its own...

It has the possibility of vastly improving our country's industries...

Will America's scientists ever pull that off? We don't know.

But here's what we do know... The White House is not wasting time.

Washington Is Going All In on AI

Genesis was set in motion by Executive Order No. 14363. It has a very aggressive timeline, with specific deadlines that started last November. There's a 270-day deadline for initial operating capability.

Plus, the smartest people in the world are involved. They include OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Nvidia (NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang. Combined with other tech giants and the brightest at the DOE, this is a rare moment when the federal government and private industry are pulling in the same direction.

This project is moving fast. And money is flowing.

The DOE made a $320 million initial investment in Genesis...

Companies involved in AI chips, models, and quantum computing – all the stuff of science fiction – stand to make a lot of money throughout the life of this project. This will be the most sophisticated AI network ever created.

Will Genesis live up to its ambitious goals? Nobody knows.

But we do know this...

When Washington, national laboratories, and companies like Nvidia and OpenAI all begin investing in the same vision, investors should pay attention.

Here's to our health, wealth, and a great retirement,

Dr. David Eifrig

Editor's note: Before joining Stansberry Research, Doc helped build trading algorithms for Goldman Sachs' largest clients. Today, he's unveiling his latest project. It uses the same technology that SpaceX uses to track thousands of Starlink satellites... creating a new way to identify potential market winners before they take off.