Too much, too fast, too faulty, that is AI in a nutshell. Nothing pushed out this fast has ever had good results. There needs to be stiff regulations, comprehensive standards, because they are not being transparent or honest about what they are doing. It seems like another fools gold epic rush to the bottom. I don’t want to be anywhere near any of this.
A related question that has been nagging me: Is there a fundamental innovation that has enabled all of this? What will be the modern equivalent of the steam turbine for Industrial revolution when we look back on the AI explosion?
All these building blocks and bottlenecks here are not new devices, we have had chips and processors for decades. Even the concept of a Large Language Model is an idea that has been around. Is it just the gradual improvement of processing chips that has made the scale needed for AI feasible? Or is there some math behind the networking or training that was the breakthrough? Could you have built a large language model on the computer chips of the 2000s if you had enough of them, albeit a slower one?
I suppose the reduction of technology to a breakthrough innovation is itself an invention of history. We had boilers and coal furnaces and the other components of steam turbines before we realized we could put them together to power all kinds of things. But still, the idea of a catalyzing invention is somehow satisfying, and AI for the most part, does not clearly have one.
Thank you. Timely. wrote a letter last week to an AI advocate/trainer former colleague asking these questions! My concern is people like him are not also training around capacity. So if everyone buys in and push back wins, what then? Who gets use cut first ? No answer from him. This is so helpful!!!!
It really isn't that complicated. They are pushing new cars off an assembly line with no testing, no safety regulations, forcing everyone to pay the price of a 747 for each including stealing your electricitiy and water to power them, whether we want one or not, while we are left sitting at home with our old Chevettes wondering what the heck just happened.
Great questions, John, and they all need to have positive answers before moving forward... not just some of them. Thank you for outlining the scope.
Glad you put this out for everyone to see and realize what it really means and takes. Wonderful insights and questions.
This column is a real public service. Thanks for doing the heavy lifting.
Too much, too fast, too faulty, that is AI in a nutshell. Nothing pushed out this fast has ever had good results. There needs to be stiff regulations, comprehensive standards, because they are not being transparent or honest about what they are doing. It seems like another fools gold epic rush to the bottom. I don’t want to be anywhere near any of this.
And perhaps the most important thing not mentioned...REGULATION. There is none.
A related question that has been nagging me: Is there a fundamental innovation that has enabled all of this? What will be the modern equivalent of the steam turbine for Industrial revolution when we look back on the AI explosion?
All these building blocks and bottlenecks here are not new devices, we have had chips and processors for decades. Even the concept of a Large Language Model is an idea that has been around. Is it just the gradual improvement of processing chips that has made the scale needed for AI feasible? Or is there some math behind the networking or training that was the breakthrough? Could you have built a large language model on the computer chips of the 2000s if you had enough of them, albeit a slower one?
I suppose the reduction of technology to a breakthrough innovation is itself an invention of history. We had boilers and coal furnaces and the other components of steam turbines before we realized we could put them together to power all kinds of things. But still, the idea of a catalyzing invention is somehow satisfying, and AI for the most part, does not clearly have one.
Great piece. Appreciate all your work and explaining. It’s all moving too fast to soon
I suggest “Empire of AI” by Karen Hao.
Thank you. Timely. wrote a letter last week to an AI advocate/trainer former colleague asking these questions! My concern is people like him are not also training around capacity. So if everyone buys in and push back wins, what then? Who gets use cut first ? No answer from him. This is so helpful!!!!
No.
Way too complicated for me!
It really isn't that complicated. They are pushing new cars off an assembly line with no testing, no safety regulations, forcing everyone to pay the price of a 747 for each including stealing your electricitiy and water to power them, whether we want one or not, while we are left sitting at home with our old Chevettes wondering what the heck just happened.