WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
  • Jeff Bezos said the United States must beat China to the moon and expressed confidence Americans could land there in 2028.
  • Blue Origin plans to return New Glenn to flight in December and is building three additional launch pads.
  • Bezos predicted artificial intelligence could increase productivity enough for some families to work fewer days or avoid holding two jobs.
  • Project Sunrise seeks approval to launch more than 50,000 satellites that would serve as orbital data centers.
  • Bezos criticized politicians who blame billionaires and landlords while failing to offer solutions to affordability problems.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos laid out an expansive vision for America’s technological future Wednesday, calling for the United States to beat China to the moon while embracing artificial intelligence and space-based data centers, as reported by Fox News.

Bezos spoke with chief political anchor Bret Baier during an exclusive interview on Fox News Channel’s “Special Report.” The conversation took place on Blue Origin’s factory floor in Cape Canaveral, Florida, as the network marked its 30th anniversary.

The Blue Origin founder described the competition with China in stark terms, arguing that the United States must prevail in the race to return humans to the moon. He expressed confidence that an American landing could happen in 2028.

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“We have to beat China to the moon, and I believe we will beat China to the moon,” Bezos said.

Bezos said NASA and Blue Origin are working toward that objective, but regular cargo deliveries will be necessary to sustain people on the lunar surface. He said significant work remains while maintaining that the 2028 timeline is achievable.

“We have to be able to land cargo routinely on the moon to support a lunar base on the moon,” Bezos said. “So, there’s a lot of work to be done, but there’s every reason to believe that we can put humans on the moon in 2028.”

Although Bezos also expects missions to Mars, he rejected the idea of bypassing the moon. He called the moon “a gift” because of its proximity to Earth and the resources it could provide for future missions.

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Lunar soil could help manufacture solar cells, Bezos said, while oxygen produced on the moon could be used as rocket propellant. His stated objective is not a brief visit, but a permanent foothold.

“It won’t just be a mission and leave,” he said. “It’ll be a real sustainable lunar base.”

Blue Origin is preparing to return its New Glenn rocket to flight in December following an explosion during an engine test in May.

Bezos praised the company’s team for repairing the launch pad and said the next flight will carry Blue Ring, which is designed to transport payloads into different orbits and farther into space.

The company also wants to dramatically increase launch frequency. Bezos said Blue Origin is building three additional pads as it seeks to expand from 12 annual launches at one pad to 50.

“Our goal is to fly every day,” he said. “And, then, once we’re flying every day, we want to fly every hour. And then once we’re flying every hour, we want to fly every minute.”

Bezos acknowledged that even members of his team question that final ambition. “They think I’m crazy,” he said. “But I’ve seen crazy things before come true.”

Bezos said he has personally invested $28 billion in Blue Origin, while the company recently raised $10 billion from outside investors for the first time.

He said an initial public offering could be several years away because he had wanted to ensure outside participation would represent a sound investment.

His predictions for artificial intelligence were no less ambitious. Bezos said productivity growth could allow some families to survive on one income or permit workers to support their households while working fewer days.

“Some people will also decide, you know what? I can support my family by working three days a week,” he said. “That’s what productivity in the economy means.”

Bezos argued that higher productivity could eventually make hiring more difficult because people would no longer need to work two jobs.

Baier challenged that outlook by pointing to roughly 30,000 corporate positions Amazon had cut since late last year, but Bezos said Amazon faced a “very special position” after substantially expanding during the COVID-19 pandemic.

At Prometheus, where Bezos is a founder and chief executive, the goal is to create an “artificial general engineer” that helps people transform ideas into physical products.

“We’re going to make the tools so easy to use that anyone will be able to be an engineer,” he said.

Bezos also urged policymakers to use a light touch as artificial intelligence develops and to target harmful conduct rather than the technology itself. “You don’t want to regulate knives. You want to regulate murder,” he said.

Blue Origin’s Project Sunrise takes that futuristic thinking into orbit. Bezos said the company has an application before the Federal Communications Commission to launch more than 50,000 satellites that would operate as orbital data centers.

The discussion eventually shifted to politics and independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ criticism of billionaires.

Bezos rejected the notion that building a successful company automatically makes someone a villain, while acknowledging that affordability problems, especially housing costs, are real.

Bezos argued that politicians who blame landlords often overlook supply and demand, including policies that subsidize demand while restricting construction.

“If there’s a politician who’s picking villains and pointing fingers, that probably means they don’t have a solution,” he said.

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