Jeff Bezos Seeking $100 Billion to Buy Manufacturing Companies, 'Transform' Them With AI (msn.com)
- Reference: 0181065788
- News link: https://slashdot.org/story/26/03/21/0529209/jeff-bezos-seeking-100-billion-to-buy-manufacturing-companies-transform-them-with-ai
- Source link: https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/general/jeff-bezos-in-talks-to-raise-100-billion-for-ai-manufacturing-fund/ar-AA1Z0Iqh
"The Amazon.com founder is meeting with some of the world's largest asset managers to raise funding for the project."
> A few months ago, [Bezos] traveled to the Middle East to discuss the new fund with sovereign wealth representatives in the region. More recently, he went to Singapore to raise funding for the effort as well, according to people familiar with the matter. The fund, described in investor documents as a "manufacturing transformation vehicle," is aiming to buy companies in major industrial sectors such as chipmaking, defense and aerospace...
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> Bezos was recently appointed co-CEO of Project Prometheus, a new startup that is building artificial-intelligence models that can understand and simulate the physical world. Bezos plans to use the company's technology to boost the efficiency and profitability of businesses owned by the fund, a playbook that some investment firms are [2]similarly deploying in sectors such as accounting and property management... [Prometheus has also hired employees from OpenAI and Google DeepMind, the article points out.]
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> While much of the AI revolution has been focused on large language models, billions of dollars have begun to [3]flow to companies that are seeking to apply spatially focused AI systems toward industries including robotics and manufacturing... Amazon, one of [America's] largest employers, has closed in on the milestone of [4]having as many robots as humans .
[1] https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/general/jeff-bezos-in-talks-to-raise-100-billion-for-ai-manufacturing-fund/ar-AA1Z0Iqh
[2] https://www.wsj.com/finance/investing/now-wanted-in-silicon-valley-ho-hum-businesses-with-thin-profit-margins-ab07de5f
[3] https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/openais-former-research-chief-aims-to-automate-manufacturing-with-ai-8871f265
[4] https://www.wsj.com/tech/amazon-warehouse-robots-automation-942b814f
just no (Score:1)
Most ( by number) manufacturing companies are small ( not US-STEEL or INTEL ) tool-making ventures. Founders find pleasure in the novel symmetry and function of 3-dim forms. Founders seek out workers similarly motivated. That pleasure is extended if the company makes a profit. The founder and workers can continuing building . Now Bezos ... who has never built as much as a mouse-trap in his life ... will do WHAT for manufacturing ....?
Re: just no (Score:2)
For some of the regular posters on this site, I can't tell if it's AI, drugs, or autism.
Why? (Score:2)
Has anyone asked him why he wants to do this?
Re: (Score:2)
The AI told him. Duh.
Re: (Score:3)
Probably the same as [1]Sam Altman's [theonion.com]:
> Why did you decide to devote your life to AI?
> I just saw so much suffering in the world that needed to be automated.
.
(Disclaimer due to the inevitable "ACKSURELYs" on Slashdot: The Onion is a parody site, please don't respond as if Altman really said that. But you know he and Bezos really think that...)
[1] https://theonion.com/the-onions-exclusive-interview-with-sam-altman/
OMG he is implementing this scenario (Score:2)
which was posed by a student at Geogetown University:
> I was just wondering, have you seen the movie Wall-E? Because I feel like, as you've been saying with AI and all the potential benefits, uh why does it not make sense for us to invest all of our money, all of our time into developing really, really powerful super AIs so that they can just take care of all of our problems and in the future we don't have to like worry about things like working and jobs?
Get the answer to this question here: [1]https://www.yout [youtube.com]
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h30Np0mnPDs
Re:OMG he is implementing this scenario (Score:4, Interesting)
No this is techno fascism. Basically we're going back to the robber baron era where about seven or eight guys owned literally everything. The difference is they have access to technology that will let them maintain that control indefinitely. Basically hyper militarized police coupled with a surveillance state and military grade drones.
Imagine if you had a cyberpunk world but without the cool netrunners because there wasn't any room for them and they got picked off before they did anything. All the bad and none of the good.
We could do something about it but about 40% of the country for reasons I cannot explain things that they are going to come out ahead during techno fascism. Some of them have crazy religious beliefs some of them just fall for various moral panics and some of them fancied themselves temporarily inconvenienced millionaires. All of them will be ground into the same paste with the rest of us.
Re: (Score:2)
You know, if you keep thinking that way you might start to have ideas about what to do about it. Things like putting that technology in the hands of the workers who use it instead of absent owners. You might even decide that violence is the only viable way to achieve that goal. You could write a manifesto, and take over a backwards nation state.
Raise (Score:3)
In other words the man with nearly the greatest wealth on earth is asking for funds. This is rule one of being rich. You invest other people’s money.
Re: (Score:2)
Yeah, as noted above .. people read stuff like this like it's his money. It'd be nice if they taught how screwed up this level of wealth disparity is in schools.
you're missing the point (Score:2)
It's not about where the money comes from. Money isn't real.this is about control of manufacturing. Buy a business that makes something, automate it, control and profit from it.
Dickhead (Score:4, Funny)
Put your own money where your mouth is
Re: (Score:2)
At his wealth, you can put tons of others people's money where ever you damn well want, for any reason, just because you have a hunch (or for vested other interests)
Re: Dickhead (Score:2)
I think we should have a 6 month prison sentence for anyone that has more than $1B of assets at the end of the year. We'll see guys like Musk try to fly as close to the Sun as possible, but most of the billionaire class will start giving it away or hiding it in hard to access (for them) places. It takes a lot of power away from them while also placing a punishment proportional to the harm they do to society.
Re: (Score:2)
Gazillionaires like them will always find tax loopholes by which they can shelter their money. It's normal people who on the path to getting rich get most impacted by such taxes
Re: (Score:2)
Truth, the Libertarian/Conservative tent pole issue that taxes are evil has been a con the whole time. Generations duped and now those very private business interested that we just had to spare from the devil of taxation and debt support activities and an administration more ager to strip rights than any so called liberals ever dared.
These people will only have themselves to blame when President AOC starts garnishing their assets.
Re: (Score:2)
Not to mention, him attempting to minimize the number of manufacturing jobs
Re: (Score:2)
Most billionaires like Bezos didn't get insanely wealthy by investing their own money into their businesses. They did it by getting other wealthy suckers... er... "qualified investors" to risk their money on their expansion gambles.
Sure, he's investing his own money into Blue Origin, but that's probably more like a hobby to him at this point.