TechTakes @awful.systems David Gerard @awful.systems 1w ago

OpenAI launches then un-launches Sora, Twitter gives Grok away for free

pivot-to-ai.com /2024/12/11/openai-launches-then-un-launches-sora-twitter-gives-grok-away-for-free/

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The Grok data center in Memphis, Tennessee runs off gas generators without proper permits. [Reuters, archive; Memphis CAP]
- Im starting to believe this musk fellah might not be all that concerned with the environment after all.
  
  As long as it isn't where he is, why should he care? He's retiring on Mars, anyway.
  
  (Please, deities, send Musk and Thiel to Mars soon. Together, if possible.)
- archive added!
I really wonder what the state of OpenAI will be in five years. They really don't have a proper business model (or at the very least a functional one), and it doesn't seem like they will have one. Will Microsoft fully buy them out? It seems like the only way to make "AI" profitable is to make it a selling point on products that would have otherwise already had large profit margins.
- Will Microsoft fully buy them out?
  
  Yup. They own basically everything anyway, they take the tech, poach the people, lay off 80% of them, and then continue selling copilot in Office 2137 Pro Enterprise Whatever until the end of time
- Assuming the company will last 5 years is awfully optimistic.
  
  Aren't they spending like....$2-3 for every dollar made?
- It seems Elon is swaying judges these days and has it out for OpenAI. I wonder if Microsoft might use that as an excuse to do something about their relationship.
on the first day* of christmas, techbros gave to me: a product that would unlaunch promptly!

*just imagine we are in a world line where the days of Christmas start today, I guess
- Skipping ahead a bit:
  
  On the twelfth day of Christmas the techbros gave to me:
  
  12 data centers
  
  11 metaverses
  
  10 whiny nazis
  
  9 strictly worse trains
  
  8 hallucinations
  
  7 AI racists
  
  6 busted unions
  
  5 EN EFF TEEEEES
  
  4 cyber cults
  
  3 sex pests
  
  2 crypto scams
  
  And a bunch of bullshit backed by VCs.
wait, they couldn't get substation big enough so they're running straight gas turbines just to power this thing? and it's not even CCGT (there would be visible cooling towers unless there's a lake nearby)? i guess they're doing this this way because it's compact and doesn't require water, but they're 1. paying premium for baseline power, more than for regular price from utility, or normal gas plant, and 2. running pollution -> profit machine straight from captain planet episode

reuters article (through neuters, it works like nitter but for reuters) https://neuters.de/business/environment/musks-xai-operating-gas-turbines-without-permits-data-center-environmental-group-2024-08-28/
- running pollution -> profit machine straight from captain planet episode
  
  that is part of their mission statement, yes
- to be specific, untreated gas turbine exhaust contains a lot of nitrogen oxides. similar thing (bar particulates) also happens with diesel engines, but usually there's a catalytic converter downstream. venting it like this is also a massive waste of energy because another ~half of power is still recoverable in steam turbine, for example in my city there's large CCGT plant with ~350MW gas turbine, ~150MW steam turbine coupled to it and another ~400MW waste heat is pushed into municipal heating grid. smaller turbines are much less efficient than that
Kevin Beaumont started a thread collecting horrifyingly awful Sora output

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