It now occurs to me that the enormous diversion of resources to the construction of AI #datacenters reflects not triumphalism but desperation. If the #LLMs and generative #AI of today worked half as well as their proponents claim they do, would it be necessary to go to these lengths to make them work a little bit better yet?

These people and companies have bet the farm, not on #AI as such, but on a particular resource-heavy approach to #AI. And they're acting like out-of-control "steamers" in a casino — compulsive gamblers betting more and yet more every turn, in a frenzied attempt to win enough to cover their losses.

They're past worrying about whether they can afford it. And most of them (Peter #Thiel, who recently fled to Argentina, may be an exception) are past worrying about how it looks to the rest of us.

But we're still free to observe, and draw our own conclusions. And I suggest that we conclude, not only that these massive AI #datacenters must not be allowed to exist, but also that the kind of massive concentrations of private wealth that built them must not be allowed to exist — not if we value our lives and our freedom. Liquidation of all large accumulations of private capital is not primarily a matter of implementing some philosophical principle of equality. It's a matter of basic self-preservation.

#Luddite