To solve long-term constraints like land and power, Google CEO Sundar Pichai revealed the company is exploring a new moonshot project: data centers in space. While in the very early stages, it represents the kind of thinking required to sustain AI's growth over a multi-decade horizon.

The immense resources needed for powerful AI, dictated by scaling laws, limits frontier development to a few well-funded, responsible actors. This centralization, while concerning, provides a temporary buffer against widespread misuse and allows for focused alignment efforts, as these few players are more easily monitored and engaged.

For a blueprint on AI governance, look to Cold War-era geopolitics, not just tech history. The 1967 UN Outer Space Treaty, which established cooperation between the US and Soviet Union, shows that global compromise on new frontiers is possible even amidst intense rivalry. It provides a model for political, not just technical, solutions.

The shift to a moon base isn't just about faster space colonization. It's a strategic move to build massive AI and quantum computing data centers off-planet. This bypasses terrestrial energy regulations and solves the immense cooling requirements for these systems, positioning SpaceX to dominate the AI landscape.

The conversation around AI and government has evolved past regulation. Now, the immense demand for power and hardware to fuel AI development directly influences international policy, resource competition, and even provides justification for military actions, making AI a core driver of geopolitics.

The first entity to achieve AGI could see it self-improve at an exponential rate, potentially achieving 20,000 years of progress overnight. This concept of "fast takeoff" makes any delay in the AI race, even for regulatory reasons, a potentially catastrophic strategic error.

The exponential growth of AI is fundamentally constrained by Earth's land, water, and power. By moving data centers to space, companies can access near-limitless solar energy and physical area, making off-planet compute a necessary step to overcome terrestrial bottlenecks and continue scaling.

The mismatch between exponentially advancing AI and slow, "medieval" institutions is a core risk. Instead of only focusing on recursively self-improving AI, we should apply technology to create self-improving governance systems that can adapt and update at the same speed as the challenges they face.

As humanity expands into space, establishing ground rules for jurisdiction and cooperation is critical. By hosting a symbolic event like the Olympics, SpaceX can proactively frame space as a collaborative frontier for all humans, not a territory to be claimed by nations or corporations, setting a precedent for future governance.