Nah, AI Is for Little People Too. Ho Ho Ho

April 5, 2024

This essay is the work of a dumb dinobaby. No smart software required.

I like the idea that smart software is open. Anyone can download software and fire up that old laptop. Magic just happens. The reality is that smart software is going to involve some big outfits and big bucks when serious applications or use cases are deployed. How do I know this? Well, I read “Microsoft and OpenAI Reportedly Building $100 Billion Secret Supercomputer to Train Advanced AI.” The number $100 billion in not $6 trillion bandied about by Sam AI-Man a few weeks ago. It does, however, make Amazon’s paltry $3 billion look like chump change. And where does that leave the AI start ups, the AI open source champions, and the plain vanilla big-smile venture folks? The answer is, “Ponying up some bucks to get that AI to take flight.”

Thanks, MSFT Copilot. Stick to your policies.

The write up states:

… the dynamic duo are working on a $100 billion — that’s "billion" with a "b," meaning a sum exceeding many countries’ gross domestic products — on a hush-hush supercomputer designed to train powerful new AI.

The write up asks a question some folks with AI sparkling in their eyes cannot answer; to wit:

Needless to say, that’s a mammoth investment. As such, it shines an even brighter spotlight on a looming question for the still-nascent AI industry: how’s the whole thing going to pay for itself?

But I know the answer: With other people’s money and possibly costs distributed across many customers.

Observations are warranted:

The cost of smart software is likely to be an issue for everyone. I don’t think “free” is the same as forever
Mistral wants to do smaller language models, but Microsoft has “invested” in that outfit as well. If necessary, some creative end runs around an acquisition may be needed because MSFT may want to take Mistral off the AI chess board
What’s the cost of the electricity to operate what $100 billion can purchase? How about a nifty thorium reactor?

Net net: Okay, Google, what is your move now that MSFT has again captured the headlines?

Stephen E Arnold, April 5, 2024

Written by Stephen E. Arnold · Filed Under AI, Business strategy, Microsoft, News

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Stephen E. Arnold monitors search, content processing, text mining and related topics from his high-tech nerve center in rural Kentucky. He tries to winnow the goose feathers from the giblets. He works with colleagues worldwide to make this Web log useful to those who want to go "beyond search". Contact him at sa [at] arnoldit.com. His Web site with additional information about search is arnoldit.com.