Post by @dedicto@zeroes.ca

2026-06-06 10:05 UTC

RE: https://mastodon.green/@gerrymcgovern/116697233926805705 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

Replies (3)

@ApostateEnglishman@mastodon.world 2026-07-21 13:38

@dedicto@zeroes.ca "...[tech companies are] 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." Beautifully put! 👏🏼

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@forthy42@mastodon.net2o.de 2026-06-06 10:33

@dedicto@zeroes.ca After a leak from Microsoft confirmed that they want an addictive AI added to their products, I come to the conclusion, that the actual business case of AI is the same as of opium or tobacco. And of course the managers of AI companies are already addicted. https://www.404media.co/microsoft-wants-to-make-people-addicted-to-scout-its-new-ai-assistant-internal-documents-reveal/ This makes far more sense than trying to solve actual problem by a super intelligent computer. Who would buy that? People rather buy addictive Chatbots.

Open ##5135092
@gerrymcgovern@mastodon.green 2026-06-06 10:42

@dedicto@zeroes.ca This is a brilliant, brilliant summation of where we are at with AI. It does smell like desperation. But from starters, the whole approach has been crude, just shoveling in as much data as possible and throwing huge processors at it and thinking that brute strength always win. There is this deep nihilism and disregard for nature and materials within the tech industry. Tech uber alles, this supremacist culture that whatever materials are needed can be taken because it's tech.

Open ##5135097