Infrastructure Supporting Economic Growth

⚙️ The U.S. Economy Runs on GPUs Now Harvard economist Jason Furman says 92% of U.S. GDP growth in early 2025 came from AI-related data centers. Without them? Growth would’ve been 0.1%. Practically zero. At first, it sounds like a win — proof that AI is driving real value. But the more I sat with it, the stranger it felt. Because for the first time in history, machines — not people — are powering prosperity. Growth isn’t coming from human creativity, innovation, or productivity anymore. It’s coming from racks of humming servers and rivers of electricity. We’re no longer building around talent. We’re building around compute. → What happens when the economy’s health depends on energy, not effort? → When growth rises with GPUs, not with human ingenuity? → When progress stops being about people altogether? In my opinion, this isn’t just economic evolution — it’s a quiet trade-off. We’re outsourcing growth itself. And while that might look efficient on paper, it feels hollow in spirit. If AI is now the backbone of the economy, we need to build a human spine alongside it. ✅ Invest in capability, not just capacity. The next wave of GDP shouldn’t only come from data centers — it should come from how humans use them. ✅ Reward creation, not consumption. Growth that only counts infrastructure misses the real metric: human progress. ✅ Power balance. If compute drives growth, renewable energy must sustain it. Otherwise, prosperity becomes a power bill. Because the real question isn’t how far AI can push GDP — It’s whether we can still call it growth when humans are no longer the ones growing. #AI #Economy #Innovation #DataCenters #FutureOfWork #Ethics

In line with the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to boost investment in infrastructure, I approved the New Fourth Corridor to strengthen Dubai’s road network and enhance connectivity with the UAE’s federal road network. Spanning 80 kilometres from Al Faya Road in Abu Dhabi to Al Shanouf Road in Sharjah, the corridor will feature 12 lanes in both directions, 72 bridges and 17 tunnels. It will reduce journey times by up to 60% and serve more than 3.1 million people, while connecting with Al Maktoum International Airport and Etihad Rail. The first phase, extending from Al Shanouf Road to Dubai-Al Ain Road, will cost AED 3.5 billion. This project reflects our continued commitment to investing in infrastructure as a driver of economic growth, a foundation for enhancing quality of life, and a key pillar of Dubai’s readiness for the future.

Most healthcare AI doesn't stall because models underperform. It stalls because infrastructure is fragmented. We are no longer constrained by algorithmic creativity. We are constrained by data silos, privacy governance, interoperability gaps, compute access, and the operational friction of translating retrospective research into prospective clinical impact. This brief examines this structural bottleneck through the Mayo Clinic Platform. The authors focus on something foundational: building an AI-ready ecosystem designed to accelerate real-world clinical research at scale. The platform provides a secure, cloud-based research environment built on de-identified, standardized EHR data from more than 15 million patients. Key capabilities include: ⭐ OMOP-aligned data models for interoperability ⭐ Structured and unstructured data ⭐ Cohort-building and schema exploration tools ⭐ Integrated workspaces with scalable CPU/GPU infrastructure ⭐ Both no-code and advanced coding environments Unlike traditional institutional repositories, Mayo Clinic Platform enables access for external researchers, supports federated multi-institutional data contributions, and embeds analytics within a privacy-preserving architecture. The paper highlights four applied studies conducted within MCP: 1️⃣ RCT emulation for heart failure drug efficacy using observational data 2️⃣ Validation of antihypertensive medications and reduced dementia risk 3️⃣ Deep learning prediction of mild cognitive impairment progression to Alzheimer’s disease 4️⃣ Neural network prediction of major adverse cardiovascular events after liver transplantation Extracting a cohort of ~15,000 patients took approximately one week. Training and running a deep learning model required roughly 10 minutes on moderate compute resources. When infrastructure friction is minimized, research velocity changes materially. Competitive advantage in healthcare AI is increasingly defined by: 💫 Data harmonization at scale 💫 Federated, privacy-preserving architectures 💫 Reproducible research pipelines 💫 Integrated compute environments 💫 Lower barriers for clinician engagement The authors also point toward multimodal expansion (notes, imaging, genomics), large-scale cross-institutional validation, and “Clinical Trials Beyond Walls” models that broaden participation and diversify real-world evidence. For those shaping AI strategy in health systems, pharma, or digital health, this paper offers a concrete example of production-grade, AI-ready infrastructure. The future of healthcare AI will not be won by isolated models. It will be won by platforms that integrate data, governance, compute, and workflow into a coherent operating system for translational impact. John Halamka, M.D., M.S. and team, great work! #HealthcareAI #HealthSystems #RealWorldEvidence #ClinicalResearch #DigitalHealth #TranslationalMedicine #PrecisionMedicine #HealthData #AIInfrastructure #MedicalInnovation

We are not yet ready for this. A growing army of autonomous agents are engaging with not just humans and other agents, but also economic and legal institutions. An "agent infrastructure" of systems and protocols could maximize benefits and contain risks, suggest a group of researchers from Centre for the Governance of AI (GovAI) Harvard Law School University of Oxford University of Cambridge and others (link in comments). Most AI safety research is focused on AI system-level interventions. However different approaches are required in a proliferating multi-agent environment. The researchers propose 3 major functions in effective agent infrastructure: Attribution, Interaction, and Response: 💡 Attribution: Ensuring accountability. Attribution is critical for linking AI agent actions to responsible parties, such as users or organizations. Mechanisms including identity binding, to associate an agent’s actions with a legal entity. Certification provides verifiable assurances about an agent’s behavior, such as data handling policies or autonomy levels. Implementing agent IDs enables tracking and monitoring specific agents, facilitating incident response and accountability. 🤝 Interaction: Shaping behaviors. Interaction infrastructure defines how agents engage with the world to enable reliability and security. Dedicated agent channels isolate agent activities from regular digital traffic, reducing risks like data contamination or accidental disruptions. Oversight layers empower users or managers to intervene when necessary, improving operational control and accountability. Inter-agent communication protocols support seamless collaboration and negotiation among agents, promoting cooperative outcomes in multi-agent systems. 🔄 Response: Mechanisms to mitigate harm. Response infrastructure addresses problems caused by agents using proactive and reactive measures. Incident reporting systems collect detailed data on harmful events, enabling developers and regulators to understand root causes and implement safeguards. Rollback mechanisms allow reversal of unintended actions, such as erroneous financial transactions, protecting users from significant harm. The concept of agent infrastructure and proposed framework provide a very useful framework to build the next phase of scalable agent ecosystems. We need to develop and agree on these principles soon, as the foundations of a burgeoning agent economy will be built through this year.

South Africa is dealing with two realities at once. The first is a societal crisis: a decade of growth near 1 percent has left 8.5 million South Africans without work. Unless we grow above 3 percent a year, unemployment rises - 3 percent is the floor. The second is genuine progress: loadshedding has ended, logistics are recovering, our credibility is restored. The green shoots are real - proof that when business and government work together, this country solves problems many believed unsolvable. Phase 3 of the Government–Business Partnership, launched last week with President Ramaphosa, is built on both: targeting growth above 3 percent and one million jobs by 2030, in sectors where South Africa can genuinely compete. My personal thanks to the more than 30 CEOs leading this work. One reality demands our urgency; the other justifies our optimism.

Sometimes, it’s the things hiding in plain sight that make the biggest difference. Europe is at an inflection point. In a world where geopolitical pressure, digital transformation, need for resilience and decarbonization are reshaping the rules, staying competitive means rethinking how we invest in infrastructure — not just how much. Yes, we need more capital. Our latest BCG research with Dansk Industri shows that Europe will require €12 trillion in infrastructure investment by 2040 — more than doubling the current spend from around €300B to €800B annually. But the real challenge isn’t just the money. It’s delivery. We need faster permitting, smarter coordination across borders, and a step-change in how public and private sectors work together. Because without fixing the machinery behind the scenes — execution, regulation, talent — even the best-funded plans will fall short. I’m excited to be working alongside Dansk Industri and my brilliant colleagues to help unlock this shift. The stakes are high. But so is the opportunity. Imagine a Europe where energy, transport and digital systems act as one seamless network rather than siloed national projects. Where cross‑border corridors are planned, permitted and built faster. Where private capital joins public ambition and skilled people are ready to deliver. I’m really excited to be working with Danish Industry, and with my brilliant colleagues at Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Esben Hegnsholt, Mogens Holm, Mikkel Krogsgaard, Trine Filtenborg de Nully on this important topic. Read more 👉 https://lnkd.in/ecHPC7X8 #Europe #Infrastructure #CompetitiveAdvantage #DeliveryExcellence #PublicPrivatePartnerships #SustainableGrowth #Coordination #RelatedPeopleAndOrgs Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Danish Industry European Commission