Ask HN: Is AI revolution only for the select few unlike internet/mobile eras? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Is AI revolution only for the select few unlike internet/mobile eras?

4 pointslifeplusplus4 comments

We had internet and it was very democratic anyone/anywhere could build something, then smartphones came and it created new age of similar oppurtunities.

However, It feels to me that AI age is different only companies with unlimited funding can come up with models and new advances (midjourney/openai)... and rest have to either sit and watch or rely on their tech stack which is a risky proposition (if you core tech is third party then they can increase prices, kick you out, or launch competitor to you)

In many ways AI wave in tech is similar to bio advances, a domain of select few corporations and VCs.

Do you agree? Am I not seeing something?

Unless you are some brilliant PHD grad students with triple focus on Math, ML, and Neuroscience. It seems you have not many options and even then you need a lot more of resources to actually train your models.

The 'tech stack' is very available to the average person right now.

You can use most of the tools that everyone else can do.

Yes, it is the select few that can make these tools, but that was always the case was it not? The operating system of your computer was made by a very small amount of possible companies for example, i don't see the difference.

Computers started out extremely expensive and only big companies and universities had them, but today even people in poor countries have them. AI could be different, but the state it is in today doesn't prove anything.

Great point, I'd also add that a lot of the big names are blowing up on the internet like ChatGPT but there are tonnes of open source stuff happening as well and a lot of the algorithms are published in scientific articles. In other words, there will be competition and it doesn't seem to me like it will be a winners take all

computers wasn't something anyone could make publish right, internet was easier to get into, for computers you needed companies like IBM and MS.

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