Comment by simianwords 3 hours ago
This is going to be the problem with any new construction or infra project in general. If you buy a big plot of land for a new shoe factory - you will need energy, real estate and many other things which will drive prices up.
I'm seeing a big push back from just normal infra building but no one sees the other side - demand for AI is met. Taxes are paid. Jobs are secured.
> We just haven't seen AI create a service or product people really value and will pay for.
That's not something you have to worry about because the risk is taken primarily by the companies themselves. ChatGPT has around 800 million weekly active users. That is humongous, considering such a new technology.
I wonder what your stance would be if the companies do start making profit and become rich through data centres. If that happens are you okay? Because I see that also a problem that people propose - companies getting too rich and extracting wealth. What’s the ideal situation?
In any case, I find this anti infra building a bit annoying if I may be direct. People want AI. Data centres are built to meet the demand. Profits are likely.
If only that were true.
The likes of Google, Meta, Microsoft and Oracle will survive by cuttings costs (ie firing people) and probably getting bailed out by the government, either with direct loans or simply with government contracts.
We're already seeing massive increases in homelessness. Now imagine if unemployment goes to 8-10%. We had higher unemployment in Covid but the government opened the money faucet to avoid a complete collapse. Unemployment peaked at around 10% in the GFC and it was both a massive wealth transfer to the already-wealthy and a massive decrease in real wages as entry-level positions disappeared.
You don't spend trillions in corporate investment to have the bubble collapse and society not to feel the pain.
Ok so it was never about the ability to make profits.
At least a shoe factory will employ people and produce something people will buy. After a DC is built, it only needs a handful of people (compared to the capex) and as for its output? We just haven't seen AI create a service or product people really value and will pay for.
This is really the most alarming thing about the AI boom: it's so much like 2000 and the dot-com bubble because so many companies never had a business model or revenue let alone made a profit.