Paul Stenhouse: Microsoft partners with a nuclear plant to power AI, the US Government could force cars to have AM radio

Saturday Morning with Jack Tame

How do we power the rise of AI?

The answer at the moment seems to be nuclear power. Microsoft has partnered with a shuttered nuclear power plant called Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania to bring back its Unit 1 facility. It was shut down in 2019 because of increased competition from cheaper sources such as natural gas, solar, and wind power.

Microsoft says it'll purchase all the power from the plant for 20 years. So, Constellation says it'll spend $1.6 billion to get it back up and running by 2028 – as long as the regulators allow it.

You may know the name Three Mile Island because of a nuclear meltdown at the "Unit 2" site, in 1979.

The US Government could soon force cars to have AM radio

With the rise of internet connected electric vehicles, AM radio has been phased out. Tesla, BMW and Volkswagen promised to remove AM radio saying the electric engines can interfere with the sound of AM radio.

Plus, why do you need it if you can stream Spotify, Pandora, or iHeart? Well, what happens if you're out of a coverage area? What happens if there's an issue with the communications systems? How do you get emergency information? Well, US lawmakers believe the answer was, and is, AM radio. It's got a huge coverage area, even in rural areas, and is integrated with emergency alerting systems. The AM for Every Vehicle Act was overwhelmingly approved by a house committee and will now go before the house for a vote and, if successful, will go to President Biden to sign.

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