• PieMePlenty@lemmy.world
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    14 days ago

    Actually, I think the profit motive will correct the mistakes here.
    If AI works in their workflow and uses less energy than before… well, that’s an improvement. If it uses more energy, they will revert back because it makes less economic sense.
    This doesn’t scare me at all. Most companies strive to stay as profitable as possible and if a 1+1 calculation costs a company more money by using AI to do it, they’ll find a cheaper way… like using a calculator like they have before.
    We’re just nearing the peak of the Gartner hype cycle so it seems like everyone is doing it and its being sold at a loss. This will correct.

    • thedeadwalking4242@lemmy.world
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      14 days ago

      You put too much faith in people to make good decisions. This could decrease profits by a wide margin and they’d keep using it. Tbh some would keep with the decision even if it throws them into the red.

      • skulblaka@sh.itjust.works
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        13 days ago

        Personally I am stoked to see multiple multi-billion dollar business enterprises absolutely crater themselves into the dirt by jumping on the AI train. Walmart can no longer track their finances properly or in/out budget vs expenditures? I sleep. They were getting too big and stupid anyway.

    • Natanael@infosec.pub
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      14 days ago

      The problem is how long it takes to correct against stupid managers. Most companies aren’t fully rational, it’s just when you look at long term averages that the various stupidities usually cancel out (unless they bankrupt the company)

    • theparadox@lemmy.world
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      14 days ago

      This doesn’t scare me at all. Most companies strive to stay as profitable as possible and if a 1+1 calculation costs a company more money by using AI to do it, they’ll find a cheaper way

      This sounds like easy math, but AI doesn’t use more or less energy. It’s stated goal is to replace people. People have a much, much more complicated cost formula full of subjective measures. An AI doesn’t need health insurance. An AI doesn’t make public comments on social media that might reflect poorly on your company. An AI won’t organize and demand a wage increase. An AI won’t sue you for wrongful termination. An AI can be held responsible for a problem and it can be written off as “growing pains”.

      How long will the “potential” of the potential benefits encourage adopters to give it a little more time? How much damage will it do in the meantime?

    • sobchak@programming.dev
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      13 days ago

      I think the profit motive is what’s driving it in many cases. I.e. shareholders have interest in AI companies/products and are pressuring the other companies they have interest in to use the AI services; increasing their profit. Profit itself is inefficiency (i.e. in a perfect market, profit approaches zero).

    • hayvan@feddit.nl
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      13 days ago

      A problem right now is that most models are subsidied by investors. OpenAI’s 2024 numbers were something like 2bn revenue ves 5bn expenses. All in the hopes of being the leader in a market that may not exist.