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don't buy into the hype, but when Facebook has spent around as much on GPUs as the Manhattan project (but not the Apollo program), the comparison kinda makes itself.

https://twitter.com/emollick/status/1786213463456448900

$22 in 2008 -> $33 today https://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl?cost1=22&year1=20080...

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The Big Dig (Boston highway overhaul) cost $22bn in 2024 dollars. The Three Gorges dam cost $31bn. These are expensive infrastructure projects (including the infrastructure for data centers). It doesn't say anything about how important they are for society.

Comparing LLMs to the Manhattan Project based on budget alone is stupid and arrogant. The comparison only "makes itself" because Ethan Mollick is a childish and unscientific person.

I read this last week and its terrifying. If the world lets Facebook become an AI leader its on us as we all know how that story will play out.

We must summon a fellowship of the AI ring with one hobbit capable of withstanding the corrupting allure of it all.

Don't torment the hobbits! Send the eagles right away!

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