Posted on 11/19/2025 1:50:50 PM PST by E. Pluribus Unum
Google's ultra-private CEO Sundar Pichai is showing me around Googleplex, its California headquarters. A walkway runs along the length of it, passing by a giant dinosaur skeleton, a beach volleyball pitch and dozens of Googlers lunching under the hazy November sun.
But it's a laboratory, hidden away at the back of the campus behind some trees, that he is most excited to show me.
This is where the invention that Google believes is its secret weapon is being developed.
Known as a Tensor Processing Unit (or TPU), it looks like an unassuming little chip but, says Mr Pichai, it will one day power every AI query that goes through Google. This makes it potentially one of the most important objects in the world economy right now.
"AI is the most profound technology humanity [has ever worked] on," he insists. "It has potential for extraordinary benefits - we will have to work through societal disruptions."
But the confusing question lingering over the AI hype is whether it is a bubble at risk of bursting - as, if so, it may well be a spectacular burst akin to the dotcom crash at the start of the century, with consequences for us all.
The Bank of England has already warned of a "sudden correction" in global financial markets, saying "market valuations appear stretched" for tech AI firms. Meanwhile. OpenAI boss Sam Altman has speculated that "there are many parts of AI that I think are kind of bubbly right now".
Asked whether Google would be immune from a potential bubble burst, Mr Pichai said it could weather that potential storm - but for all his starry-eyed excitement around the possibilities of AI, he also issued a warning: "I..."
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...
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Sickness in a mentally ill society. AI is ruining everything it touches. Those AI youtube videos, and news stories and simply crap and spreading like black mold.
And the jobs are going to be gone.
But big tech gets to scrape all your data and micromanage everyone’s life.
Google went through the last such bubble, in 2000, and did just fine.
Like what?
AI videos in YouTube?
That's relevant?
There is no doubt in my mind, AI, like communism and globalism, can be placed into the category of low IQ.
“We will have to work through societal disruptions.” I am gravitating towards older cars with NO computers and my boat has none either all is mechanical and vacuum driven . I am able to maintain these items without any assistance, I understand and am able to diagnose them. The further dependence on this foolish A I will be the true downfall independence. Look at how long cars and trucks last now because of all the computer integration, they don’t! Saw a ford Truck get water in a tail light and it ended up bricking the whole unit because of the system integration and a computer being unable to isolate a bad bulb.....5,600.00 dollars later it was fixed. Not even by a dealership as they couldn’t figure it out...a PRIVATE shop traced the intricate mess. This is not advancing anything positive for huankind.
Nvidia blew through all estimates.
Even the optimistic.
People said the same kind of thing about every other disruptive technology. AI-generated videos are a noise factor.
When AI diagnoses a disease that save a grandchild’s life or spots a pattern that prevents a terror attack at a major sporting event - or any other countless scenarios - acceptance of AI will quickly pass the tipping point
Look at how long cars and trucks last now because of all the computer integration, they don’t!
In my experience, cars last much longer now than they used to, mostly because of better metallurgy and advanced engineering.
It is common for today’s cars to last over 200,000 miles. Lasting to 100,000 miles was considered a good accomplishment in 1970s cars.
Yes, prices to repair have gone up, but you have cars with bumper to bumper warranties of 60,000 miles, and often 100,000 miles on the drive train.
“Sickness in a mentally ill society. AI is ruining everything it touches. Those AI youtube videos, and news stories and simply crap and spreading like black mold. And the jobs are going to be gone.
But big tech gets to scrape all your data and micromanage everyone’s life.”
Absolute fact. I just cannot believe how many are falling for this addictive drug that will take their soul and possess them using their own greed.
It has been foretold for millennia and we are now watching it happen play by play... There is no saving this shit...
Better soften the blow as best as you can personally for your clan, because if not the mass stupidity is going to take you all down with it...
“In my experience, cars last much longer now than they used to.”
My friend. As someone who has cherried and fliped Classics all my life you really do need a “technical” education on how mythical what you just shared really is. A “well maintained” 60s-70s model will go 300K easy. I have one right now I have 300K on and it still does not burn oil and will indeed still pass modern smog regs with a fresh proper tune up. I got 350K out of my Pinto and tore it down and it didn’t even need boring. Just a light hone and new pitons rings and bearings. Good for another 100K and more...
You know where this mythical mind comes from? “Passing smog”. They are taking us out long before our time...
Fully agree with you. Plan for you and your own clan.... soften the blow.
News content, descriptions of houses listed for sale, the list is endless and complete BS.
| ... cars last much longer now than they used to, mostly because of better metallurgy and advanced engineering [not because of computer integration]. * * * I totally agree, marktwain. The computer high tech sector has always relied on hype to promote itself. And the publicity around AI is more of the same. I would like to see a large computing/comms giant break the mold and produce services and products that are less tethered to the big brother model: snooping on consumers in order to sell them something. For instance, it's hard to find a computing tablet that allows you to run HTML files without going through the big-engine Google-, Amazon-, and other we-own-the-world browsers. I recently bought a Lenovo tablet that has splendid color and ability to play music and videos. But you cannot run device-local HTML files that integrate pics, audio, and video on the device. The only workaround is to create static PDF text files. So I hope freer, more capable tablets are coming, though another key problem to solve is security. |
Why? Because Nvidia is the prime beneficiary of AI bubble. Every one wants those chips Nvidia makes in order to stay ahead of competition. The bubble will burst when AI fails to create an automobile without breakdowns after huge investments by auto manufacturers.
When AI finds a cure for cancer, then the bubble can go on for another decade or two.
A “well maintained” 60s-70s model will go 300K easy.
My experience is automobiles in southern climates, away from the ocean (more salt) last longer.
Modern cars seem to have better salt protection from the factory.
Have you kept records of how much time you spend maintaining these cars? It would be interesting to know.
That’s true of engines and things, but the issue is all these electronic gizmos that will eventually fail, and in many cases replacement parts will be unavailable. With the way things are integrated, one failure can take out the vehicle, as another poster pointed out.
Peak automotive technology occurred in the early 90s thru the mid oughts, IMO. After that, too much electronic nonsense.
I drive a 2000 car, with analog gauges and knobs and buttons for lights and HVAC. No touch screens. It gets me around just fine, and I can effect many repairs myself. I’ve already removed and reinstalled the engine for repairs myself once before.
The other issue I have is the lack of manual transmission equipped vehicles on the market today. Some of us like to drive a stick shift.
Manuals are also known as the “millennial anti-theft device.”
😊
The other issue I have is the lack of manual transmission equipped vehicles on the market today. Some of us like to drive a stick shift.
Manuals are also known as the “millennial anti-theft device.”
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