this post was submitted on 10 Feb 2024
477 points (96.1% liked)

Technology

59201 readers
2945 users here now

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.


Our Rules


  1. Follow the lemmy.world rules.
  2. Only tech related content.
  3. Be excellent to each another!
  4. Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
  5. Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
  6. Politics threads may be removed.
  7. No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
  8. Only approved bots from the list below, to ask if your bot can be added please contact us.
  9. Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed

Approved Bots


founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is in talks with investors, including from the United Arab Emirates, to raise between $5 trillion to $7 trillion in funding. The goal, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal, is to increase the world's chip manufacturing capacity and enhance AI capabilities.

The fundraising efforts are part of a broader strategy to address OpenAI's growth constraints, particularly the scarcity of AI chips needed for training large language models like ChatGPT.

Altman's proposal is said to include forming a partnership with investors, chip manufacturers, and power providers to finance the construction of chip foundries, which would then be operated by the chip manufacturers.

top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] remotelove@lemmy.ca 183 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (7 children)

That's fairly bold to ask for ~6% of the total world economy as well as a sizable chunk of the world's energy.

[–] essteeyou@lemmy.world 52 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I was about to ask for the other 94%...

[–] Tremble@sh.itjust.works 22 points 9 months ago (4 children)

.000000001 percent of that…. Please

load more comments (4 replies)
[–] herrcaptain@lemmy.ca 20 points 9 months ago

See now, they need to ask for more like 25% of the total world economy. That way what they actually want is gonna seem like a great deal.

load more comments (5 replies)
[–] EdibleFriend@lemmy.world 127 points 9 months ago (4 children)

The fundraising efforts are part of a broader strategy to address OpenAI’s growth constraints,

see...we just can't grow without TRILLIONS OF FUCKING DOLLARS

[–] RedditWanderer@lemmy.world 62 points 9 months ago

STOP CONSTRAINING ME

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] los_chill@programming.dev 122 points 9 months ago (6 children)

Good thing the board folded and allowed this to be full for-profit. Getting people reliant on LLM subscriptions is super important for humanity right now.

Another L for Earth, in general.

load more comments (6 replies)
[–] whoelectroplateuntil@sh.itjust.works 108 points 9 months ago (8 children)

For perspective, global annual GDP is $105 trillion, which means Altman is asking the world to invest 6.7% or so of the entire world's economic output for one year in his company.

[–] keefshape@lemmy.ca 49 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (14 children)

Holy fucking bonkers when you put it that way. Like holy fuck.

Are they that close to something amazing, or is Altman going true Dr Evil megalomaniac?

[–] whoelectroplateuntil@sh.itjust.works 16 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (2 children)

It's both. Basically, if he's right that this is among the most important tech in world history and deserves $7 trillion in research, it'll make OpenAI the du jour monopolist over said most important tech in world history if he gets it. Outright dystopian.

[–] Telodzrum@lemmy.world 16 points 9 months ago (9 children)

Generative AI is not an important development. General AI would be. This is just a party trick.

load more comments (9 replies)
load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (13 replies)
[–] filister@lemmy.world 16 points 9 months ago

And the world's 5 biggest companies their total market cap is a bit over 8 trillion dollars, which is also mind boggling, that so much capital is concentrated in the hands of so few people or shall we say mega corporations.

load more comments (6 replies)
[–] sentient_loom@sh.itjust.works 76 points 9 months ago (4 children)

I also want to raise $5 - $7 trillion dollars.

[–] MajorHavoc@programming.dev 34 points 9 months ago

Is this the line for $5 - $7 trillion dollars?

I'll only take 4 million, and pass the rest on. With inflation accounted for, I think that leaves the next person roughly $5 - $7 trillion.

[–] doublejay1999@lemmy.world 21 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Have you tried gofundme.com

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (2 replies)
[–] hark@lemmy.world 65 points 9 months ago (11 children)

I wonder if this will be one of the things pointed at after the AI bubble bursts. Yes, AI will be sticking around, but the hype over it now is ridiculous.

[–] jol@discuss.tchncs.de 35 points 9 months ago (1 children)

The way how every single digital product suddenly has AI shoved in it is really reminiscing of the Web bubble before it popped.

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (10 replies)
[–] BeatTakeshi@lemmy.world 58 points 9 months ago

Thank God there is trickle down economics. We will all benefit in the end... Right?

[–] zoostation@lemmy.world 51 points 9 months ago (3 children)

Could that level of investment ever be recouped in any other manner than by replacing vast numbers of workers and their salaries?

[–] ikidd@lemmy.world 27 points 9 months ago

Well, see, if we grind down 8 billion people into a nourishing slurry with a shelf life of a century, that should be worth at least $1000 a person, with inflation. That's a 50% profit on your investment!

[–] RegalPotoo@lemmy.world 22 points 9 months ago

That's my question; presumably the people in charge of that much wealth aren't total fools and will be wanting to see some actual numbers and a business case as to how they will see a return, not just platitudes and enthusiasm.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] BigMacHole@lemm.ee 49 points 9 months ago (10 children)

$7,000,000,000,000? It's a good thing we won't tax it ever at all in any capacity! Not while there's Single Mothers overdrawn on their Bank Accounts! #SaveTheTrillionaires!

load more comments (10 replies)
[–] ombremad@lemmy.blahaj.zone 45 points 9 months ago (8 children)

5-7 trillion and they’ll still end up stealing data from all over the internet.

load more comments (8 replies)
[–] doublejay1999@lemmy.world 42 points 9 months ago (1 children)

We will come to regret not jailing San Altman.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] filister@lemmy.world 39 points 9 months ago (7 children)

Can someone ELI5 what's the open in the OpenAI's name at the moment?

I know they released Whisper as an open source model and that's about it, but I might be wrong.

[–] jj4211@lemmy.world 34 points 9 months ago

It used to be open, then money happened.

[–] JustARegularNerd@lemmy.world 21 points 9 months ago

Open for business

[–] knF@lemmy.world 19 points 9 months ago

Open your wallet /s

load more comments (4 replies)
[–] doctorcrimson@lemmy.today 35 points 9 months ago

I used to think they were unethical scammers.

Now I know for sure.

[–] ohlaph@lemmy.world 28 points 9 months ago (2 children)

We could solve so many problems with that much money.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] cyberpunk007@lemmy.ca 27 points 9 months ago
[–] BetaDoggo_@lemmy.world 27 points 9 months ago

Just a few more parameters, then the text prediction model will become sentient.

[–] A_Very_Big_Fan@lemmy.world 27 points 9 months ago (6 children)

I, too, would like 5-7 trillion dollars

load more comments (6 replies)
[–] bfg9k@lemmy.world 25 points 9 months ago (2 children)

You could build a huge, state-of-the-art orbital station for 1 trillion lol

why spend it on some software

[–] SomeGuy69@lemmy.world 17 points 9 months ago

It's necessary, to replace humans, fellow human.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] Kushia@lemmy.ml 22 points 9 months ago

Motherfucker is going for the biggest heist of all time. What a colossal waste of money and resources.

[–] GasMaskedLunatic@lemmy.dbzer0.com 19 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

This mother fucker REALLY wants the machine uprising ending.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] Aopen@discuss.tchncs.de 18 points 9 months ago

$2.92T is current Apple market cap btw

[–] moitoi@feddit.de 18 points 9 months ago (2 children)

I'm not pretending AI isn't useful. There is plenty of field where AI helps. But, AI has been the next scam after blockchain, crypto, NFT...

It's the end of our civilization with falling capitalism. But, capitalism will try to find new ways to make short term profits. We moved from fordism to post-fordism with the enslavement of the cognitive abilities. We entered the next era with all these scams. And entshitification is a symptom of this.

[–] derpgon@programming.dev 16 points 9 months ago (1 children)

At least AI has something to show for it. Crypto, on the other hand...

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (1 replies)
[–] comador@lemmy.world 18 points 9 months ago

What are we going to do tonight Pinky?

[–] Nobody@lemmy.world 17 points 9 months ago

It’s too bad the non-profit oversight board got killed by the for-profit subsidiary. OpenAI is dead on arrival as useful tech. It’s now a vehicle to deceive investors to raise VC cash.

[–] db2@lemmy.world 16 points 9 months ago (5 children)

Thou shalt not make a machine in the likeness of a human mind.

load more comments (5 replies)
[–] Blackmist@feddit.uk 15 points 9 months ago (1 children)

At this point I wouldn't mind them accidentally creating Skynet and killing us all in a nuclear inferno, just so we don't have to listen to any more insufferable, grifting techbros.

Max Zorin had the right idea about silicon valley.

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments
view more: next ›