Kudos, Steve. There are SO many questions about this data center buildout.
One that I brought up in a recent note is this: what is all this new AI supposed to be for?
We already have AI being heavily used in science, which is appropriate. We already have the AI apps that ordinary people can use to draw pictures and make music and videos. Search engines have AI summaries that can be helpful to writers.
Yes, we already have all this stuff, and presumably we already have the data management capacity to do the things we already do.
SO why do we need vastly MORE of it?
I cannot believe that it's just to satisfy growing demand for the things I've listed above.
There are those who have suggested a reason far more ominous and disturbing: to be able to collect the most intimate details about every human being in the developed world, for surveillance and control.
AI data centers are not only environmentally detrimental but also economically short sided. Rather than making AI more efficient in its workflows they are just throwing every compute they can at the wall. It isn’t sustainable as you require billions in new infrastructure for millions in potential profit. All of this done, in a winner takes all capitalist system, ensures safety is sidestepped to create a competitive edge. You have 7 people making decisions that could affect all of humanity. I used to work in traditional data centers and those incentivize efficiency.
The pope recently wrote a pretty good Substack on it.(lol)
Kudos, Steve. There are SO many questions about this data center buildout.
One that I brought up in a recent note is this: what is all this new AI supposed to be for?
We already have AI being heavily used in science, which is appropriate. We already have the AI apps that ordinary people can use to draw pictures and make music and videos. Search engines have AI summaries that can be helpful to writers.
Yes, we already have all this stuff, and presumably we already have the data management capacity to do the things we already do.
SO why do we need vastly MORE of it?
I cannot believe that it's just to satisfy growing demand for the things I've listed above.
There are those who have suggested a reason far more ominous and disturbing: to be able to collect the most intimate details about every human being in the developed world, for surveillance and control.
Ponder that for a moment.
Thanks, Rick. As the saying goes, "Just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean they're not out to get you."
AI data centers are not only environmentally detrimental but also economically short sided. Rather than making AI more efficient in its workflows they are just throwing every compute they can at the wall. It isn’t sustainable as you require billions in new infrastructure for millions in potential profit. All of this done, in a winner takes all capitalist system, ensures safety is sidestepped to create a competitive edge. You have 7 people making decisions that could affect all of humanity. I used to work in traditional data centers and those incentivize efficiency.
The pope recently wrote a pretty good Substack on it.(lol)