Five Things AI: AI Revolution, Chips for China, Big Tech's Hunger for AI, Climate and AI, Music
TGIF! Before we get to watch the Euro 2024 quarterfinals, let's do some reading on AI!
Hi and welcome back to Five Things AI! My name is Nico Lumma and every week I like to share five interesting articles about AI with you. So instead of researching for hours on the web, just read these five articles here and you are all set. As I’m saving you a couple of hours every week, I’d really appreciate it if you could go paid and spend the equivalent of one large café latte on this newsletter.
This week you should really read the article from The Economist about all the hype and investments around AI and the little impact it has on companies so far. I believe that a lot of CEO will print out this article for the next board meeting with a big “told you so!” on their faces. And I think they are dead wrong. Sure, there is lots of hype, but at the same time AI can unleash lots of gains in efficiency and productivity, when done right. We are working with so many interesting startups right now that power this revolution, providing real value beyond the hype. And yet, I like it when journalists try to poke some holes into the current story around AI, allowing for a critical analysis of where we are right now and were the industry is moving.
Aside from this story, read about NVIDIA chips getting smuggled into China, read about Big Tech getting around antitrust regulation to grow faster by doing a new kind of acquihire, read about energy-hungry data centers and climate change, and read about the music industry trying to slow down how AI will change the industry.
Please remember to share this post with your friends, colleagues and randome bystanders. Thanks!
What happened to the artificial-intelligence revolution?
“In time, businesses may wake up to the true potential of ai. Most technological waves, from the tractor and electricity to the personal computer, take a while to spread across the economy. Indeed, on the assumption that big tech’s ai revenues grow by an average of 20% a year, investors anticipate that almost all of big tech’s earnings from ai will arrive after 2032, according to our analysis. If an ai bonanza does eventually materialise, expect the share prices of the users of ai, not only the providers, to soar. But if worries about ai grow, big tech’s capex plans will start to look as extravagant as its valuations.” - it seems that The Economist is not that bullish on AI right now.
The Underground Network Sneaking Nvidia Chips Into China
Interesting story about chips getting smuggled into China, thereby circumventing the export restrictions: “Until viable domestically-made chips emerge in China, the market for Nvidia’s high-end products—and the supply chain that has sprouted around them—will likely remain robust and adaptive. The Chinese student who brought Nvidia processors in his suitcase said he is willing to transport the tech components again.“
This is Big Tech’s playbook for swallowing the AI industry
At least Big Tech is bullish on AI, but the playbook is an interesting one. To circumvent antitrust regulation, instead of gobbling up AI startups, they hire their employees and license the tech.
Can the climate survive the insatiable energy demands of the AI arms race?
Big Tech needs more data centers and also more power to run those data centers, which in turn means that Big Tech needs more alternative energy sources to keep their climate pledges. The only way to reach this goal is to slow down the deployment of data centers, which won’t happen anytime soon, I guess.
The New ‘Ethical’ AI Music Generator Can’t Write a Halfway Decent Song
It’s doubtful that this will save the music industry from the massive threat of AI. Sure, they can sue AI startups that create interesting music and cut deals with startups create bland music at the same time, but this will just create more challenges down the road.
If you missed last week’s edition of Five Things AI, you can read it here:
That’s it for Five Things AI this week! 🤖
— Nico