Managing Editor’s Note: Today, we’ll hear from Exponential Tech Investor senior analyst Joe Withrow.
Joe explains how artificial intelligence has reached its “Gutenberg Moment” – the point where AI helps the world reach unprecedented levels of productivity and advancement, just as Gutenberg’s printing press did for Renaissance-era Europe.
Read on for more from Joe on this critical inflection point for AI, as well as where the greatest opportunity lies and one way to play this.
In 1455, a German inventor named Johannes Gutenberg introduced a machine that would forever alter the course of human civilization.
Gutenberg’s device – the printing press with movable type – was a relatively simple innovation. Still, it unleashed a tidal wave of knowledge in a short period.
Artist’s rendering of Gutenberg’s printing press in a medieval workshop
Prior to the printing press, books and written records were only available to monks and elite scribes who held something of a monopoly over knowledge. Literature, science, and written historical records were not readily available to the average person.
The printing press broke that monopoly and radically decentralized and democratized information across society. Within just a few decades of its invention, the printing press had spread widely across Europe.
By 1500, over 1,000 print shops were operating in more than 200 cities. Collectively, they produced millions of books and pamphlets – making access to knowledge available to a broad segment of society for the first time in history.
The effects were profound and swift.
The explosion of printed material fueled the Renaissance as artists, scholars, and scientists could now share and build upon each other’s ideas at unprecedented speed.
For example, the printing press sparked major breakthroughs in science. As scientific research spread, Nicolaus Copernicus developed On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres in 1543, which introduced the heliocentric model of the universe (i.e., the sun is at the center of our solar system). Copernicus’s work reached scholars across the continent and ignited the debates that paved the way for the Scientific Revolution.
In short, the printing press enabled the broad and rapid dissemination of knowledge like never before. This connected people and ideas, which drove a cascade of innovation and productivity that would have been impossible in the age of handwritten manuscripts.
Artist’s rendering of Europe’s Renaissance transformation
In less than a century, Gutenberg’s innovation had completely transformed Europe’s intellectual, religious, and social landscape. It’s fair to say that this laid the groundwork for the modern era. Without the printing press, the spread of ideas would have remained slow, fragmented, and limited to the privileged few.
Today, we’re at a similar inflection point in history. We’ve reached the “Gutenberg Moment” for artificial intelligence (AI), and it’s going to reshape every aspect of our society.
Just as the printing press required skilled typesetters and editors to bring clarity and order to the written word, the AI revolution depends on companies that can transform oceans of raw information into structured, high-quality datasets that power advanced AI models.
As these models become more advanced, they will fundamentally transform how we work, learn, create, and live-democratizing capabilities that were once exclusive to experts and large organizations.
Recent studies show that AI tools are delivering productivity improvements of 66% on average, with some specific applications showing even more dramatic results.
Programmers using AI assistance can produce 126% more lines of code per week, while office professionals have achieved productivity gains of roughly 59%. These productivity improvements are happening basically overnight, not over years.
As impressive as this is, these numbers only scratch the surface of what’s coming.
As AI models evolve, they will enable what we call the “always-on economy.” We can think of this as a transformation where intelligent systems operate continuously, removing the limits that have historically constrained human productivity.
Financial markets already demonstrate this transformation in a small way. AI systems now enable 24/7 trading that was impossible with human-only operations. This model will expand to healthcare, education, customer service, logistics, and countless other industries.
The implications are profound.
We’re on the cusp of a world where expert-level assistance is always available, where learning and productivity are not constrained by traditional schedules or manual labor, and where individuals have access to capabilities that were once the exclusive domain of large institutions.
Just as Gutenberg’s innovation sparked the Renaissance and Reformation by democratizing access to existing knowledge, the AI revolution is poised to automate menial tasks, drive 24/7 productivity, and democratize access to the accumulated store of human knowledge and expertise.
The always-on economy will be defined by intelligent systems that quietly orchestrate the flow of commerce, information, and services across the globe. And since these systems never sleep, these flows will be constant.
We’re talking about a world where the barriers of time zones, business hours, and human fatigue no longer apply… and where the infrastructure of daily life is powered by tireless digital agents, each tuned to anticipate and respond to changing dynamics in real time.
In the always-on economy, the workplace and indeed the entire idea of work will be reimagined. Any menial task that can be automated will be automated. This will unlock human potential on a scale previously unimaginable.
Financial markets, already operating around the clock, will expand to include decentralized assets, micro-investments, and real-time risk management. Self-directed investors will be empowered like never before.
Even the concept of downtime will be redefined. In the always-on economy, personal productivity tools will help individuals manage focus, rest, nutrition, and well-being with individualized plans and recommendations.
By removing the constraints of time, geography, and physical labor, AI will enable a dynamic society where opportunity and human creativity are found in abundance.
But there’s a catch.
This new renaissance will require massive amounts of energy, computer processing power, networking hardware, and expertly engineered data.
With AI systems set to become the backbone of global productivity, the infrastructure that supports them – energy grids, data centers, and specialized computing hardware – emerges as a defining investment frontier.
The sheer energy appetite of AI-driven data centers is staggering. Data centers already account for about 4.4% of U.S. electricity consumption, and this share is set to surge as AI adoption accelerates.
Globally, electricity demand from data centers is projected to more than double by 2030. At the current pace, data centers will consume more electricity than all of Japan within five years… and Japan is the world’s third-largest economy. Here in the U.S., data centers are on track to drive nearly half of all electricity demand growth this decade.
To put this in perspective, a single hyperscale AI data center can draw as much power as 100,000 homes. And the largest campuses will consume 20 times that amount.
This surge is fueling a new energy arms race, with tech giants racing to secure generation capacity and grid access. Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Oracle have each committed billions of dollars to deals that will ensure access to power for their data centers.
Natural gas has gained traction because of its ability for quick deployment. But nuclear power is a cornerstone in these deals.
Having been demonized for decades, suddenly nuclear power generation is recognized as reliable and “clean.” And modern technology – such as small-modular reactors (SMRs) – makes nuclear power plants more affordable, flexible, and safer than ever before.
SMRs are compact nuclear reactors that produce between 10 and 300 megawatts (MW) of power. That’s compared to the sprawling traditional reactors that produce 1,000 MW or more.
Their compact size and modular design enable SMRs to be produced in factories and then shipped to their deployment location. This provides several advantages that align perfectly with the needs of AI data centers and a decentralized power grid. They are:
Rendering of an SMR cluster up in the mountains
The above image is a rendering of an SMR cluster up in the mountains. This demonstrates how the modular design will enable on-site power production even in remote locations.
As the AI revolution accelerates, modern nuclear reactors, particularly SMRs, will form the backbone of a decentralized power grid that redefines energy infrastructure. By 2035, energy analysts predict that SMRs could provide 20–30% of data center power globally, with tech giants leading deployment.
This grid will be a tapestry of interconnected microgrids, each anchored by SMRs and tailored to localize AI workloads. These systems will be managed by AI-driven energy platforms that optimize power flows across regions and ensure resilience against climate-driven disruptions like wildfires or storms.
The investment implications here are immense. The primary areas for potential investment are:
At Brownstone Research, we are constantly researching these complex companies and technologies behind the scenes to identify the top-tier investment targets when the timing is right.
That said, there is one simple but compelling means of gaining exposure to nuclear energy’s renaissance. That’s the Sprott Physical Uranium Trust (SRUUF).
The Sprott Physical Uranium Trust is the world’s largest publicly traded fund that invests directly in physical uranium – the fuel that powers nuclear energy production. The Trust currently warehouses over 66 million pounds of uranium. At today’s prices, that’s a market value of over $5 billion.
With the AI race requiring a sharp pivot to nuclear power, uranium demand is projected to rise from 165 million pounds today to 230 million pounds by 2030. However, uranium supply is only expected to grow from 150 million pounds today to just over 200 million pounds by 2030.
That leaves a sharp supply deficit… which is bullish for the price of uranium going forward. And as uranium’s price rises, so will SRUUF.
For self-directed investors looking for a simple and efficient way to gain exposure to the nuclear renaissance that will power the AI revolution, SRUUF is a good way to go.
Regards,
Joe Withrow
Senior Analyst, The Bleeding Edge
The Bleeding Edge is the only free newsletter that delivers daily insights and information from the high-tech world as well as topics and trends relevant to investments.
The Bleeding Edge is the only free newsletter that delivers daily insights and information from the high-tech world as well as topics and trends relevant to investments.
