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The week's question
In December 2024, in the thread "Re: BRK: Why Not XOM?", BreckHutHigh asked the members: "What about the long road trips with kids?" This week it is put to everyone again. The button below opens the small thread re-asking it - read what others have said so far, then give your own answer as an ordinary reply.
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Stocks A to Z / Stocks B / Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A)
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Author: tedthedog   😊 😞
Number: of 21941 
Subject: Re: Power usage By AI
Date: 09/19/24 7:47 AM
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One key difference in comparing the transition from horses to cars (and the necessary car/truck infrastructure e.g. roads to support it), to the development of the new "AI" (and the computing/datacenter infrastructure to support it), is that cars/trucks were more efficient than horses, to the tune of hundreds of horsepower packed into the space of a few horses. Also, as the efficiency of internal combustion engines increased, the need for road infrastructure still remained.
Current neural net "AI's" implementations, with their huge computing and data center power needs, are horribly inefficient compared to the human brain operating at 20 watts.

IMO, for whatever that's worth, theoretical advances in neural networks over the next ten years will obviate the need for huge computing and data centers. In contrast, efficiency developments in internal combustion engines didn't obviate the need for road infrastructure. Also, as mentioned, there are other routes to "AI" such as brain organoids in a dish, that are being developed.

The key number to remember when considering what power is needed to compute like a human is 20 watts.

Fusion power is an interesting thought. Perhaps it might lead to fueling super human computing power.

Anyway, it's just my opinion: I think these huge computing data centers will become like dead shopping malls within ten years, i.e. huge white dead elephants that no one knows what to do with their (expensive) corpses.
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This community has written 21,448 posts about Berkshire Hathaway. The article-length ones it recommended most:
BRK: Why Not XOM? · 62 recs · 2024
Second quarter comments · 60 recs · 2023
Berkshire's Profit Contributors · 57 recs · 2023
Summary of 2Q 2026 · 54 recs · 2026
3Q Summary · 53 recs · 2024
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