This is a brilliant discussion with Sarah Myers West about the geopolitical, data and computational advantages which the dominance of big tech is built on, as well as what this means for the unfolding of generative AI. The logic of centralisation inherent in such a capital intensive and computationally demanding technology suggests we are not the intended users of generative AI. There’s no business model here for mass consumer facing generative AI at a point where capital is less indulgent to such firms than it once was, but there is a clear path towards business-to-business services provided through the existing infrastructure of cloud providers.
See also: https://ainowinstitute.org/general/2023-landscape-executive-summary
Mark Carrigan 