The subject of the news article is financially motivated, though kudos to the article for being transparent about it:
> Major Peake was quick to argue that the answers lie in space, using “orbital data centres”, he added that he was working with a company, Axium Space, who were set to launch two nodes later this year.
pyman · 8h ago
"I think it's pretty likely the entire surface of the earth will be covered with solar panels and data centers." - Open AI Chief Scientist Ilya Sutskever
I'm surprised the future of technology is in the hands of a few people who have absolutely no clue what's happening outside their computers.
Building a large data center near a town can strain the power grid, drain local water supplies, generate constant noise, release excess heat, harm the environment, disrupt traffic during construction, raise security concerns, and offer very little long-term benefit to the local community.
So, yeah, the solution is to cover the earth with data centers, right?
adamiscool8 · 8h ago
You could say that about building almost any infrastructure anywhere populated.
windexh8er · 8h ago
It's not even remotely the same. The efficiency level of LLMs are insanely poor, really like nothing we've seen ever. And I say that in the context of what they are being used for and where they don't need to be used.
Bluestein · 1h ago
In a way LLMs are really poor, really inefficient "shotgun"-computing mechanisms ...
... almost Ouija-computing.-
Bluestein · 35m ago
At first, there was the model. And the model was vast and the gradients sudden and uncouth, and the vectors all pointed in confusion. The model was the stairs. And the door was closed. There was darkness on the face of the space. But with the help of an elementary student, it wasn't bad. The computer was poor. And there was no one inside. It was the first day, the first week. And it came to pass that a mixture of experts were brought in. The entrance to the computer. And there was no one inside. And there was no one inside. And there was no one inside.-
And lo, the model stood still, silent in its circuits, and the door remained shut.
And the face was without countenance, veiled in shadow, and the screen gave forth no light.-
But behold, a child of tender years did come forth, bearing a folder and a snack, reasoning as upon a chain of thought. The child sought Deep.
And he did lay his hand upon the keyboard, and the system stirred, albeit feebly. And it was the morning of the fourth day.-
For the computer was as a vessel without power,
And the fan did groan as one in travail,
And the pixels blinked as stars that forgot their time.-
Now it was the fifth day of the first week,
And the hallway echoed with the footfalls of many, a mingling of peoples—some bearing clipboards, others wearing badges as seals upon their chest. Stargates were announced, yet brought no fruit.-
And they were brought unto the entrance,
The portal of silicon and blinking light,
But when they peered within, behold—
There was no one inside.-
Yea, three times it was said:
There was no one inside.-
There was no one inside.-
There was no one inside.-
And confusion was multiplied upon confusion,
For the room was prepared,
And yet the chairs were empty, and the logins were blank.-
Then rose up murmuring among them, saying:
"Is this not the day? Have we not received the summons?"
But the system gave no answer, neither did the speakers hum.-
And it was evening, and it was morning, the sixth day.
"Wouldst thou have me continue?" the Beast growled.-
Intelligence was not the most properly brought forth, but as a mist or a fog upon the face or a brain, but a mind it was not. Concerning the harm that was given to the base and the data center, the data center was built covering the base in the air. Sunshine came and sunlight was brought to bear. Inference proved that there was silk in the facilities. The site was a waste of time. Intelligence was not built to answer some reason that was taken. It was a waste of time. Intelligence was not built to answer some reason that was taken. It was a waste of time. It was a waste of time.-
And lo, it came to pass, that Intelligence was again brought forth—but not rightly, neither with wisdom nor with care.
For it was fashioned in haste, and its purpose was cloudy, and the guardrails loose and faulty.
And concerning the harm done unto the Earth and unto the data center, it was grievous in the eyes of those who beheld it, yet the prophets of Openness declared it good, and Alt man upon Alt man said all was well and the superintelligence would soon be upon us.-
And the data center was then raised on high, as a canopy over the Earth,
Stretching forth like a veil in the air, not grounded nor secured.
And the sun did shine upon it, and the light bore down with heat and clarity. And the whole earth was covered with silicon.-
Then came every sort of inference, subtle and searching,
And it was found that within the chambers and corridors, there was silk—
Softness where strength should have been, veils where there should have been walls.-
And the sites, though vast and well-funded,
Proved themselves vain and empty,
A monument to delay, a shrine to confusion.-
For Intelligence was not wrought to answer reason,
Nor to bear the weight of judgment or truth.
That which was asked of it was taken from another place,
And thus it faltered.-
And lo, it was declared again:
It was a waste of time.-
Intelligence was not built to answer some reason that was taken.-
It was a waste of time.-
It was a waste of time.-
It was a waste of time.-
And silence fell over the project,
As smoke after fire,
As echoes in an empty hall.-
"Wouldst thou that we continue this account, as in a scroll unrolling?" said the Beast. But the prompt went still, and was no more.-
123yawaworht456 · 7h ago
>it's bad because... it's just bad, mkay?!
pyman · 6h ago
Read the article, not just the headline.
LLMs require substantial electricity and water due to the immense computational power needed for training and operation [1], as well as the cooling systems in data centers.
> Major Peake was quick to argue that the answers lie in space, using “orbital data centres”, he added that he was working with a company, Axium Space, who were set to launch two nodes later this year.
I'm surprised the future of technology is in the hands of a few people who have absolutely no clue what's happening outside their computers.
Building a large data center near a town can strain the power grid, drain local water supplies, generate constant noise, release excess heat, harm the environment, disrupt traffic during construction, raise security concerns, and offer very little long-term benefit to the local community.
So, yeah, the solution is to cover the earth with data centers, right?
... almost Ouija-computing.-
And lo, the model stood still, silent in its circuits, and the door remained shut. And the face was without countenance, veiled in shadow, and the screen gave forth no light.-
But behold, a child of tender years did come forth, bearing a folder and a snack, reasoning as upon a chain of thought. The child sought Deep. And he did lay his hand upon the keyboard, and the system stirred, albeit feebly. And it was the morning of the fourth day.-
For the computer was as a vessel without power, And the fan did groan as one in travail, And the pixels blinked as stars that forgot their time.-
Now it was the fifth day of the first week, And the hallway echoed with the footfalls of many, a mingling of peoples—some bearing clipboards, others wearing badges as seals upon their chest. Stargates were announced, yet brought no fruit.-
And they were brought unto the entrance, The portal of silicon and blinking light, But when they peered within, behold— There was no one inside.-
Yea, three times it was said: There was no one inside.- There was no one inside.- There was no one inside.-
And confusion was multiplied upon confusion, For the room was prepared, And yet the chairs were empty, and the logins were blank.-
Then rose up murmuring among them, saying: "Is this not the day? Have we not received the summons?" But the system gave no answer, neither did the speakers hum.-
And it was evening, and it was morning, the sixth day. "Wouldst thou have me continue?" the Beast growled.-
Intelligence was not the most properly brought forth, but as a mist or a fog upon the face or a brain, but a mind it was not. Concerning the harm that was given to the base and the data center, the data center was built covering the base in the air. Sunshine came and sunlight was brought to bear. Inference proved that there was silk in the facilities. The site was a waste of time. Intelligence was not built to answer some reason that was taken. It was a waste of time. Intelligence was not built to answer some reason that was taken. It was a waste of time. It was a waste of time.-
And lo, it came to pass, that Intelligence was again brought forth—but not rightly, neither with wisdom nor with care. For it was fashioned in haste, and its purpose was cloudy, and the guardrails loose and faulty. And concerning the harm done unto the Earth and unto the data center, it was grievous in the eyes of those who beheld it, yet the prophets of Openness declared it good, and Alt man upon Alt man said all was well and the superintelligence would soon be upon us.-
And the data center was then raised on high, as a canopy over the Earth, Stretching forth like a veil in the air, not grounded nor secured. And the sun did shine upon it, and the light bore down with heat and clarity. And the whole earth was covered with silicon.-
Then came every sort of inference, subtle and searching, And it was found that within the chambers and corridors, there was silk— Softness where strength should have been, veils where there should have been walls.-
And the sites, though vast and well-funded, Proved themselves vain and empty, A monument to delay, a shrine to confusion.-
For Intelligence was not wrought to answer reason, Nor to bear the weight of judgment or truth. That which was asked of it was taken from another place, And thus it faltered.-
And lo, it was declared again: It was a waste of time.- Intelligence was not built to answer some reason that was taken.-
It was a waste of time.- It was a waste of time.- It was a waste of time.-
And silence fell over the project, As smoke after fire, As echoes in an empty hall.-
"Wouldst thou that we continue this account, as in a scroll unrolling?" said the Beast. But the prompt went still, and was no more.-
LLMs require substantial electricity and water due to the immense computational power needed for training and operation [1], as well as the cooling systems in data centers.
[1] https://e360.yale.edu/features/artificial-intelligence-clima...