InfoPower

The crown jewel of Industrial Revolution 4.0 is AI. As of March of 2026, many corporations are embracing it, but some are shunning it fearing they will lose employees. However, those favoring AI claim it will create more jobs for humans as well as new industries. There’s no denying, however, that AI sees the digital world like a black hole sees suns, moons, and planets at a galactic buffet, the former digesting and disseminating everything on the Web in yottabytes and Yoctoseconds. Obvious questions arise. None more important than which country will become the AI superpower. Will said country shut down its most powerful enemy’s electric grids and water treatment stations just to ensure world dominance? Pop culture is replete with computer and computer-aided villains from Star Trek to 2001: A Space Odessey, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Spectre, and a host of others. Should humans embrace or brace for AI? Is Vegas already cashing in on its algorithms? Will it give us odds on which country will become the AI superpower? So many questions.

According to a recent report published by the St. Louis Federal Reserve on August 12, 2025, the number of U.S. manufacturers rose in the U.S. from 336,000 in 2014 to 401,000 toward the end of 2024.

In 1983, the first surgical robot, Arthrobot, was used to accurately align a patient’s leg during an orthopedic surgery. In 1985, the PUMA 560 robot assisted in a brain biopsy providing precise tissue sampling. The da Vinci robotic-assisted surgery (RAS) system by Intuitive Surgical debuted in 1998, and received FDA approval in 2000 for laparoscopic surgery. In 2014, the da Vinci Xi was the new system’s advanced version enhancing flexibility, imaging, and instrument control. And in 2023, da Vinci added transoral procedures to its list, all which minimize recovery times through less invasive surgeries. The da Vinci 5 added tactile feedback for the surgeon to “feel” the tools move along soft tissue during surgery, which Intuitive calls Force Feedback technology. It received FDA 510(k) clearance in March of 2024.

Americans have a reputation for having a down-to-business and self-reliant work ethic that started during its first Colony in Virginia (1607), to its thirteenth Colony (Georgia, 1732). Forty-four years later, Jefferson penned the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, and self-reliance was on a roll. Once the war was over, America began to export its goods, and its first tariff was enacted by the First Continental Congress in 1789 “ . . . to lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imports and Excises . . . to regulate Commerce with foreign Nations," which was signed into law by George Washington. Tariffs have been used throughout U.S. history—the U.S. government was funded by tariffs until 1913. After that, it was a combination of taxes and tariffs.

Will Manufacturing Become This Century’s Roaring ’20s? The foundation for the reemergence of American manufacturing is happening quickly after nearly five decades of ramping up outsourcing—at least the corporate manufacturing pledges of $8 trillion and counting during the writing of this article trend in a positive direction. While new manufacturing is still a work in progress, let’s review the unwinding of what was the manufacturing sector in America.