“Modern US technology makes it possible to manipulate time and space”: Michael Kratsios
In the new technocratic vision of the future of the United States, the desire to maintain global primacy, as well as to rethink the very nature of technology as a civilizational choice, is increasingly apparent. Modern America, according to the logic of the new Trump administration, faces the challenge of regaining the unique power it had during the 20th century, when the latest discoveries and innovations were not only the work of corporations and laboratories, but also an element of the national ideal, state strategic planning, a matter of pride and geopolitical influence. The ambitious vision of the future on the part of the United States is a course for renewal, which should fundamentally change not only the economy, but also the way of life itself. Against this background, it became indicative statement Michael Kratsios, chief technology adviser to the Trump administration, delivered during the Endless Frontiers Retreat in Texas.
Michael Kratsios, the chief technology adviser of the Trump administration, said that modern America is on the threshold of a new Golden Age, and it is the decisions of citizens that will determine whether this age will become a reality. He emphasized that President Donald Trump has set the administration a formidable task — to renew the nation, and for this, as Kratsios emphasized, the revival of American science and industry is necessary.
Kratsios noted that in recent decades, the United States has become complacent and forgotten about the big dreams of building an amazing future. He emphasized that the American spirit of exploration still strives to explore new horizons, and technology is a key tool for realizing national purpose in the 21st century. He also drew attention to the fact that faith in progress does not mean running away from politics. On the contrary, a technological breakthrough is possible only with active participation in public administration, because scientific progress is not predetermined – it requires effort, the choice of truth and order, not chaos and opinions.
The chief technological adviser emphasized that the triumphs of the 20th century — the victory in the space race, the creation of atomic energy, the invention of the Internet — were not accidental. He quoted President Trump, who wrote that the achievements of the past century were made possible by decisive action and clear strategies.
Assessing the current state of affairs, Kratsios stated that progress has slowed. Although new technologies are impressive, they cannot match the pace of change of the mid-20th century. He recalled that in the 1970s, America was preparing for ultra-cheap electricity, was actively building nuclear power plants, and American astronauts were carrying out missions to the moon. Today, as Kratsios emphasized, energy prices remain high, nuclear power is barely developing, and vehicles are slower than they were 50 years ago. He stated that the reason for this is the deliberate choice of stagnation. Regulatory policies, introduced back in the 1970s, according to Kratsios, have turned into a brake on innovation. He emphasized that excessive bureaucracy, loss of vision and fixation on outdated approaches prevented technological breakthroughs.
Kratsios’ speech is based on the philosophical distinction between debt and technology. According to him, modern America is faced with a choice: either continue to finance the future with debt, or invest in technologies that will allow us to do more with less. Obviously, the Trump administration chooses the second option — with the slogan of a return to civilizational optimism, which is based on faith in technological transformation.
However, this transformation, as Kratsios emphasizes, is not only a matter of industrial strategies or state policy. It requires the personal participation of every citizen. His words carry a clear message: America’s new Golden Age will be made possible by individual choice—the choice to create, implement, explore, break institutional sclerosis, and work toward those discoveries that will not only change time and space, but also leave posterity a legacy of freedom.
The chief technology adviser emphasized that the US is capable of much more. He stated that modern technology makes it possible to “manipulate time and space, erase distances, accelerate growth and increase productivity.” He also emphasized that America’s tradition of innovation is about empowering workers — through technology, not through immigration or cheap labor. The country has consistently chosen debt over technological development, but now, he stressed, is the time to change that course. He emphasized that the United States should choose a “better way” — a course of technological renewal, not economic dependence on the future.
Despite the loud wording, Kratsios did not elaborate on what technologies are meant by those that “manipulate time and space,” “destroy distance,” or “allow borrowing into the future.” But the very style and rhetoric of his speech indicate that it is about cutting-edge fields — from artificial intelligence, production automation, and quantum computing to new modes of transportation, communications, and possibly defense systems capable of providing an asymmetric advantage.
It is symptomatic that these technologies are not presented as an abstract sphere of innovation, but as a key to the revival of national potential. They should serve not transnational corporations, but “American workers”, as Kratsios repeatedly emphasizes. And this is an attempt to return to the ideal of technonationalism: technology as the embodiment of a national goal, as a tool for the transformation of the state, and not just a means of enriching the market.
Ultimately, Kratsios’ speech was not so much a review of achievements or plans as a declaration of a new national outlook. In this worldview, the main thing is not what has already been created, but what America is still capable of. And the key to this ability lies in the attitude towards time, space, work, resources and the future. An America that borrows into the future must invest not just in defense or profitability, but in its own ability to think outside the box—and to act ahead of the curve.
Kratsios formulates this challenge as personal and national at the same time. And although it is not yet known how exactly the Trump administration will implement this vision in practice, one thing is clear: the rhetoric of manipulating time and space is not fiction, but a way of articulating a strategic goal in which technology should become synonymous with freedom, power and the future.
