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https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-despite-the-ai-hype-some-experts-warn-of-a-bubble-what-happens-if-it-pops-283903>
"In the last few years, the hype around artificial intelligence has become
stratospheric. Riding a wave of venture capital, tech leaders promised us AI
would revolutionise work, boost productivity and lead to incredible new
breakthroughs. OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, set a new record when it
attained US$110 billion in investments several months ago – and its CEO, Sam
Altman, recently claimed Australia could become a “data capital of the world.”
Sky-high promises have been accompanied by sky-high investment in data centres,
the sprawling server farms that power the training, execution, and maintenance
of these models. A monstrous new hyperscale facility proposed for Sydney’s west
– 1 gigawatt across 52 hectares – would rank among the world’s biggest. It will
join 162 existing centres and 90 in the works across Australia, which is
projected to be the world’s third largest data centre market by the early
2030s.
But if AI backers are all in, public sentiment is far more mixed. A new study
ranked Australia equal lowest on the scale of global AI sentiment, with 81%
supporting stronger rules for how organisations use AI and 68% worried about
losing control over decisions made by AI on their behalf.
Grassroots movements against AI are growing. Last month, a “Stop the Slop”
event challenging the Sydney data centre was relocated to a larger venue due to
high interest. It joins other campaigns like StopAI and PauseAI that aim to
slow down data centre development, ask how AI is impacting jobs and the
environment, and consider more equitable and sustainable alternatives.
And in the last few months, videos have begun surfacing of students at
commencement ceremonies booing speakers like former Google chief executive Eric
Schmidt, who speak in rapturous tones about “standing on the edge of
technological transformation” and how AI will touch “every profession”, “every
classroom”, and “every relationship”.
Faith in these monumental claims – and the monumentally expensive
infrastructure they rely on – is slipping."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
