It seems most people are on board with the idea that AI will change the world. While I agree it having some impact, I also think it is overinflated by marketing. Operating an AI takes huge computing power, which costs heaps of money and energy. So how are people suggesting that exponential improvement is feasible? I do not get it.
Further, aren’t we supposed to reduce energy usage? Why are we trying to overspend what little is left? I hate how this is taking priority over the environment.
Creating this post mainly to rant, I thought OpenAI firing Sam Altman was a signal for a reality check. It seems they are wrapping it up and trying to rehire him though… What a drama.
The “current gen AI” is the key here. How sustainable it is depends on how quickly it can grow and improve. Technology is growing much faster than in the past. I remember getting a dictation program in 1998. I had to spend 2 hours talking to it so it could learn my voice. Even after all that, it still only had about a 25% success rate in properly transcribing my text. In 2015 I bought my first smart watch. The first voice transcription I made from it was 100% correct with absolutely no learning of my voice at all.
I believe that the LLM will quickly give way to a different type of AI. There may be several different approaches to AI before something really takes hold and changes the game.