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Alright
Ready to dive deep
Today we're talking microchip those tiny but mighty things making our digital world go around
And we've got some great material to dig into absolutely we've got excerpts from the chinese edition of chip war by chris miller
That's the one plus
We've got the fascinating profits by one yy gme
We're going to trace the path of these little microchips from their cold war beginning so well being in pretty much everything we touch these days
It's is a ild ride
Really wewe're just scribes this shift the world still covering from world war two
Still picking up the pieces and suddenly powers not about factories and steel as much
It's a whole new ball game
Right technology
It's the new battle field
And not everyone's caught on yet definitely not
But some like sone's go found or okyo morreda 's 's right there in ththicof it it front row seat to this massive change
Miller paints this incredible picture war time japan intense maritis in hiding actually trying to avoid a forced suicide mission
And in that moment
He's thinking what this war needs is more electronic brains can you imagine it's like staring death in the face
And seeing a tech solution
Exactly it shows how these tech pioneers they were just labrabs
They were living through some seriously chaotic time
Then those experiences they fuel this drive to push technology to its limits
And beyond makes you appreciate that little smart phone in your pocket a bit more right right anyanymarmarita
He sees how technology is life or death
And it sparks this whole fascination with electronics and warfare
Which brings us to william shockly miller spends a lot of time on them
Yeah
This brilliant
But like obsessed mind laser focused on ditching those old vacuum tubes
The ones that were always burning out
Those early computer things are basically taking time bombs
Right right one wrong move puof there goes your calculation so shoccolhe's convved ed semicductors are the way to go
He's looking for something more reliable
Something more i don't know elegant
And that's where the transistor comes in this tiny thing
They can essentially do a vacuum tubes job
Oh
But better way better
And it's almost poedic
That it wasn't vackly himself
Who gets that first transtor working
Oh Yeah
That was his bill ababs
Colleagues
Britain and bardan classic case of innovation coming from the most unexpected places
Shortly he was the visionary
No doubt
He said the stage
But it took a fresh perspective
A different approach to actually make it happen
But getting a working transistor
That's just the first act
Right Oh
For sure
Because now you have to figure out how a mass produce
This thing make them small enough
Cheap enough
Make them useful
And that my friend was a whole new battle
And a battle that leads to two more big names in the field
Right
Robert
Noise and jack kill by working
Completely indepenpently paparallepathths conging on the same destination
And they basically give birth to the microchip
As we know it
We're talking about the integrated circuit
Now right someone figured out
Had a crime not just one but multiple transistors onto a single chip game changer huge implications especially with the backdrop of the cold war
The space ace race in full swing the us military needed electronics smaller winder and way way more powerful for their rockets and satellite
It's like the ultimate tech show down and the microchip
It became the star player miller mentioned this crazy stat the apollo guidance computer ran of those early fair childchips a thousand times smaller than the e ana a computer used back in world war
I that's like shrinking a house down to a shoe box
It's mind boggling
But here's the really interesting part even in this cold war tech race
You've got visionies like robert noise
He's thinking bigger than just missiles right absolutely noise new for the microchip to reach its full potential
It needed to break free
Break free from the military
From the military industrial complex
Yeah
It needed to be in the hands of everyday people make them smaller cheaper more practical for everyday life
It needed to be in the hands of everyday people have such a marketing challenge for the ages
Have you even begin to create a market for something so new so unheard of back
Then well don't forget
It's still the cold war right
The us is looking for any age
You can get right right and spreading the microchip gospel becomes well strategic
So it's not just about making the chip
It's about who you share that technology with precisely the us
They start encouraging other countries allies mainly especially in asia to get into the chip
Making game make sense
Boost their economies
Build stronger relationships all while keeping the soviots out of the picture smart move
But what's in it for these other countries
Japan
South korea
Taiwan
Why jump into this whole new world of microchip
For them
It's a chance to catch up
Technologically baking they see the potential of the microchip
And they go all in education research even some of less calall them creative economic tactics to gain a foothold playing catch up
But strategically did it work
Did they manage to carar out a space for themselves in this booming industry
More than car out of space they become power houses
Miller really emphasizes this 是these countries they become incredibly efficient high quality chip lower costs
And that's key for mores law to really take hold mores law reminding again
What that is uh right
That's gored morres prediction that the number of transistors you can fit on a chip
It doubles roughly
Every two years
Every two years that's incredible
It's a prediction
That's been surprisingly accurate
And it's was driven the insane pof tech progress we've all seen so the more chip they make the cheaper and more powerful they get which leads to more demand
And these asian countries they're right there writing that wave exactly
But it wasn't just a free ferl gglobal dedependence meant everyone
One reed ed on everyone else
What maparts of the process
And that's where things get really interesting
Especially
When we talk about taiwan
Because miller keeps coming back to taiwan
Almost like it's the center of the microchip universe
What makes them so special taiwan
Because compcompanies like s wan founded by a friend more as taiwan
They basically master for the art of making the most advanced chip period
The best to the best
So if you want the latest smart phone
The fastest computer
You're probably relying on a chip made in taiwan
Most likely
Yes
They became to go to
But wouldn't that kind of reliance on one place be a little
I don't know risky
What happens
If something disruruts ts suppsupply chathat's
That's the ilillion dollar question isn't
It the efficiency that makes the system work
Also makes it vulnerable and natural disaster political instability
Even a trade dispute could through the entire global economy out of acck
Suddenly this chip war sounding less like a competition and more like well a high stakes game of jenga one wrong move
And it all comes crashing down
And it's not just economics anymore
It's about national security
It's about who controls this absolutely essential industry
And it sounds like the us might be getting a little nervous about having so many microchip eggs and taiwan's basket
Yeah putting all your eggs in one basket
Especially
When those eggs are basically the brains of well everything so 嗯with the stakes this high
What is this chip war actually look like think of it like a global talent search
We're not just talking about any engineers
These are microchip masters
The best of the best people who can design and build at the nano scale
They're like the rock stars at the tech world
They really are
And countries are pulling out all the stops to get them on their team
So it's like building the ultimate tech dream team
Exactly big investments in education specialized programs trying to poach talent from other countries
It happens all the time
It's a global brain
Drain race and miller talks about the kind of mindset
You need in this field too
It's not just technical skill
Oh
Absolutely not you've got to be willing to experiment take risks even fail
Spectacularly and learn from it
You can't be afraid to colour outside lines a little
Exactly you've got a constantly pushed the limits challenge
What everyone thinks they know try something new
Even if it sounds crazy
That's how break through happened sounds like a high stake science fair
That's a good way to put it yeah
But even with the best minds
The the raziest ideas
This isn't a solo mission
It takes a village
A global village
Miller really hammers this home universities doing the research companies big in small companthe refunding sitting the strategy ecosysystem acactly
And why countries are now scrambling trying to build d their own chip ecosystems at home
They're realizing that relying on others
It's a risky move economically strategically especially with all the supply ting worries we talked about
Because the pandemic that really threarrench in the system
It exposed just how fragile things are suddenly a factory shuts down halfway across the world and entire industry shut down within it
So what's the answer
How do you balance efficiency
Globefcollaboration with this desire for lake sufficiency
Million dollar question
No easy answers
But it's forcing everyone to rethink things
How we approach innovation manufacturing even global trade can we cooperate and compete it the same time
It's a tough needle the thread
So where does that leave up most of us
People who aren't engineers or politicians
But use technology every day what's the take away here i think it's a reminder
Even the smallst technologies they can have a huge impact on our lives and the future of all this
It's not just about silicon and circuits
It's about the choices of make the shapments we pripritise the the nnerships we build with all part of this chip war in a way with milittelling us to pay attention
These forces shaping the chip industry
They are shaping our future too exactly
And it's not just about who wins this chip
Or it's about making sure that technology especially something as fundamentally as the microchip
It's used to make things better for everyone to solve global problems
To build a more sustainable future
A more equable future
Powerful stuff
Well on that note
I think we've done our deep dive for today
You've definitely you on us a lot to think about when it comes to the micro chip
Where it's been
Where it's going
It's been a fascinating conversation
The pleasure was all mine
And hey
Next time you pick up your phor use your computer
Take a second to appreciate those tiny wonders
That make it all work
The whole world of innovation packed in those little chips
And the story of the microchip
It's far from over
