I don’t think these data centers really are for LLMs. Right now, I can go to a dozen websites and use some LLM, without sitting on a wait list, for exactly $0.00 out of my pocket. So there’s obviously enough processing power to meet demand as-is, but… What? Demand will skyrocket when they crank up the fees? OpenAI operated around ~$18 billion in deficit last year, is everyone really gonna pay $200 - $600 per month for this? Plus, LLMs are reaching a plateau, more data doesn’t equal a more coherent model, they’re running into a dead end.
My local data center is steamrolling over public opinion. We’re not allowed to ask who will own it, how much power it will consume, nothing. “Officially,” the installation has stalled, but they’re still bulldozing the trees to make the lot where its supposed to go.
My personal conspiracy theory is that this is coming from Palantir, laundering resources through the tech companies, using DoD money. The data centers aren’t for LLMs, but to build out a massive dragnet to track civilian travel, who goes where and when, to be used by DHS. That explains why they need to be distributed geographically per capita, the extreme secrecy around them, and the way utility companies and local politicians keep bending over despite public outcry.
Turns out, dredging through the cosmic horror shit-show that is a low income life, being smart enough to increase your odds of finding better paying work, then understanding just how lucky you got once you’re on the other side, just makes you very jaded. Then you realize you can’t guarantee your new, privileged life to your kid, so you make sure you never inflict that pain on another living being.
I propose that increased well-being of the general population will lead to a population increase over time, but it is a multi-generation kind of process. People not only need to feel safe, but they need some kind of gaurantee to feel like their kids will be safe too.
I wonder what the data looks like if we were to separate fertility by how long those people were above the poverty line? Does the first generation of people who are well-off have fewer kids than people who come from two or three generations of being well-off?