Lugh

joined 2 years ago
MODERATOR OF
 

Data centers aren't the sole cause of Ireland's high electricity prices, but they do contribute to them. The biggest cause is Ireland's reliance on imported natural gas.

That said, data centers are heading for 30% of the country's electricity use, and they contribute significantly to high prices. Effectively a subsidy from Irish consumers to Big Tech. There are other externalized costs, too. E.g. Supporting Big Tech data center infrastructure is delaying house building. Ireland is lucky in that most of Big Tech pays its European taxes to the Irish government, so there's a quid pro quo here. But that is less true for other parts of the world.

Some people think AI may need as big a share of other countries' electricity - who should be paying for this?

Government warned of rising household bills as data centres strain grid

 

Full details, including a 27 page PDF are at this link

 

The study tested whether genetically engineered senescence-resistant mesenchymal progenitor cells (SRCs) could slow or reverse aging in primates. By enhancing the activity of the longevity-associated gene FOXO3, the researchers created stem cells more resilient to stress and senescence.

This reversed ageing across a broad series of markers, including the brain, skin, bones, internal organs, and reproductive system.

The study used cynomolgus macaques aged 19–23 years, which they said is equivalent to 57–69 years in humans. I don't know if you can directly scale up the improvements to "human years", but if you could, it seems this would be the same as reversing human aging by about a decade for people in their 50s and 60s.

Senescence-resistant human mesenchymal progenitor cells counter aging in primates

[–] Lugh 6 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

Caveat - China Daily is owned and operated by the Chinese government/CCP. But the article is interesting in itself, and its official endorsement is interesting, too.

 

People used to hold up China as the prime example of Orwellian government monitoring of the citizenry. Now it looks like the US is giving them a run for their money. This spyware is for immigration officials, but how long before its use spreads? Tied to AI, it will be a powerful way to identify and monitor "enemies" of the government.

This software takes control of your phone, meaning its users can act as you. Don't like all those social media posts you made criticising XYZ. Fine, we'll delete them for you. If you think the government wouldn't go that far, I've a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you.

We used to speculate about a 100% surveillance future. It looks like it has arrived, and we're living in it.

Ice obtains access to Israeli-made spyware that can hack phones and encrypted apps

[–] Lugh 10 points 6 days ago (3 children)

I'm still surprised at the rate LLMs make simple mistakes. I was recently using ChatGPT to research biographical details about James Joyce's life, and it gave me several basic facts (places he lived & was educated at) at variance with what is clearly stated in the Wikipedia article about him.

 

All the 100s of billions of dollars Silicon Valley is pouring into AI depend on one thing. Earning it back in the future. OpenAI, which made $13 billion last year, thinks it might make $200 billion in 2030. New data points to a different reality; AI use may be declining in big corporate customers. Though perhaps it's a blip, and it may begin climbing again.

AI use is still spreading worldwide, and open-source efforts are the equal of Silicon Valley's offerings. Even if the current Silicon Valley AI leaders fail, that won't stop. But the US is piggybacking on the Silicon Valley boom to try to reach AGI. That effort may be affected.

Link to graph of the data, source US Census Bureau - PDF 1 page

[–] Lugh 2 points 1 week ago

I wonder will the US & EU bifurcate on AI adoption for government and administration, with the EU opting for open-source?

US models don't seem interested in complying with EU law like the AI Act or GDPR.

If so, 5 or 10 years down the line this could lead to very fundamental differences in how the two territories are governed. There may all sorts of unexpected effects arising from this.

[–] Lugh 5 points 1 week ago

The person making this claim, Miles Brundage, has a distinguished background in AI policy research, including being head of Policy Research at OpenAI from 2018 to 24. Which is all the more reason to ask skeptical questions about claims like this.

What economists agree with this claim? (Where are citations/sources to back this claim?)

How will it come about politically? (Some countries are so polarised, they seem they'd prefer a civil war to anything as left-wing as UBI).

What would inflation be like if everyone had $10K UBI? (Would eggs be $1,000 a dozen?)

All the same, I'm glad he's at least brave enough to seriously face what most won't. It's just such a shame, as economists won't face this, we're left to deal with source-light discussion that doesn't rise much above anecdotes and opinions.

Former OpenAI researcher says a $10,000 monthly UBI will be 'feasible' with AI-enabled growth

[–] Lugh 16 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (2 children)

its eligibility criteria to those with Italian parents or grandparents.

That's the existing criteria for Irish passports. I'd guess the number of Americans with one grandparent born in Ireland or Italy must run to 10s of millions.

[–] Lugh 5 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

In terms of advancing software, its extremely inefficient,

It amazes me how their BS on 'innovation' has infected broader culture and politics.

Look how little fundamental innovation there is in health, education and housing. All getting more expensive and out of reach.

[–] Lugh 6 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

NYC is more complex driving. It will be interesting to see how quickly they master it.

[–] Lugh 4 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (2 children)

Their hope seems to be to invent something proprietary and hypey that gets them bought up, not to actually build something functional.

They all seem to be chasing the dream of being unicorns (for the unintiated reading this, monopolist giants like Google/Meta, not magical horses).

Do American VCs even bother with start-ups who want to be small/medium sized firms, and have a solid case for making a few hundred million dollars every year?

[–] Lugh 3 points 3 weeks ago

Yes I did, and corrected it.

[–] Lugh 7 points 4 weeks ago

Oddly, 2024 new industrial robot numbers dropped for each of the EU, Japan and the US, too from the year before. Robot manufacturing means cheaper goods, and the EU, Japan & the US are already feeling the crunch. They don't seem to have any answer to the flood of good quality cheap electric vehicles that have made China the world's biggest car maker. These pressures are only going to get worse and worse.

2024 New Industrial Robots

290,000 - China

86,000 - EU

43,000 - Japan

34,000 - US

Chinese factories keep up robot roll-out despite global decline

[–] Lugh 20 points 4 weeks ago (3 children)

I'm glad this helps people with paralysis, but I can't help seeing the sci-fi dystopian side of tech like this.

What if some people are forced to have their inner thoughts decoded against their will? It sounds like just the thing some authoritarian thought police would use to root out their enemies.

Does that sound far-fetched? I'm sure if it were suggested as an upgrade to existing lie-detecting polygraph tests, lots of people would approve. Slippery slope.

[–] Lugh 5 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

If you think of it as a pet alternative, its not so expensive. Food & vets bills for cats & dogs can easily be $1000 per year.

view more: next ›