Not at all. This isn't a zero sum game and there's no poetic justice
in letting fools and their money be easily parted. Even if the 7T
never yielded a single "AI" chip, we'd all be much worse-off for that
failure.
For example, the global cost of insecure software is 2T per year. Wrt
to lost opportunity cost, 7T would fund a ground-up secure open
microprocessor and operating system (provably free from back-doors) to
completely replace Android, iOS, Windows etc, with a new-deal style
offering to the entire global technology market. It would pay for
itself in 4 years.
Not so "glamourous" I know, but let's start with the problems we have,
not imaginary ones we haven't even created yet.
Not sure I buy this argument. Typically when society aims for moon-shots, the intermediate discoveries improve the quality of life, sometimes dramatically. It's an unknown unknown. Only exploration can turn it into a known unknown. Maybe the AI chip fails, but we discover a more potent source of energy that's cleaner than petroleum.
I personally don't think Mr. Altman is capable of such moon-shots, but am supportive of moon-shots in general.
