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AI's Future and Nvidia's Fortunes Ride on the Race To Pack More Chips Into One Place (yahoo.com)

(Monday November 25, 2024 @11:41AM (msmash) from the intensifying-race dept.)


Leading technology companies are dramatically expanding their AI capabilities by [1]building multibillion-dollar "super clusters" packed with unprecedented numbers of Nvidia's AI processors. Elon Musk's xAI recently constructed Colossus, a supercomputer containing 100,000 Nvidia Hopper chips, while Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg claims his company operates an even larger system for training advanced AI models. The push toward massive chip clusters has helped drive Nvidia's quarterly revenue from $7 billion to over $35 billion in two years, making it the world's most valuable public company.

WSJ adds:

> Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang said in a call with analysts following its earnings Wednesday that there was still plenty of room for so-called AI foundation models to improve with larger-scale computing setups. He predicted continued investment as the company transitions to its next-generation AI chips, called Blackwell, which are several times as powerful as its current chips.

>

> Huang said that while the biggest clusters for training for giant AI models now top out at around 100,000 of Nvidia's current chips, "the next generation starts at around 100,000 Blackwells. And so that gives you a sense of where the industry is moving."



[1] https://www.yahoo.com/news/m/4d6b69c1-4ecd-37f8-8935-1e63cd57be7f/the-next-ai-battle-who-can.html



AI has not future (Score:2)

by gweihir ( 88907 )

At least the LLM-variant does not beyond somewhat better search, generation of crappy text and images and crappy code, with the occasional hallucination thrown in. I seriously doubt that will be enough to justify the cost. Sure, eventually, the tech may become cheap enough and then it may play a minor role, but that time has not arrived.

Re: (Score:2)

by timeOday ( 582209 )

I disagree in that I don't think AI will go away - and yet I still don't think NVidia can continue like this. It's like the 1990's fiber buildout for the Internet. The Internet didn't fade away, but it turns out only so much infrastructure was needed to make it go.

See also: Sun Microsystems - "The network is the computer!" Turns out they were right. Didn't help them though.

Self-driving cars might be a wildcard since it has to be done locally (inference, not training) but I still doubt there will be m

Re: (Score:2)

by Mspangler ( 770054 )

One nuclear power station to run the AI servers, two nuclear power stations to run the cooling system. Liquid ammonia cooling?

A thought occurs, if they could build the chip to handle 250 F the outlet temperature from the cooling system would be high enough to heat the feed water to a multiple effect evaporator to desalinate water. Then they could get some use out of the energy other than getting the wrong answer quicker.

So are they going to make GenAI progress? (Score:2)

by Somervillain ( 4719341 )

Is lack of computing capability keeping the GenAIs from achieving the next level of progress?...or has their potential been greatly oversold? (sincere question for the group) I am personally a GenAI skeptic, but open minded that maybe the future will prove me wrong. It seems like Generative AI is a complete crapshoot as to whether or not it can give a correct answer...even on the most popular models and most popular questions.

Logically, if only time and computing power were limiting it, you'd assume G

Re: So are they going to make GenAI progress? (Score:2)

by spinitch ( 1033676 )

If AI cant advance to something magical soon at least sufficient to recoup the investments there could be some big impairments. AI bringing in some cash but not at the speed consuming

This is fine, as long as... (Score:2)

by MpVpRb ( 1423381 )

...CEOs and investors understand that AI is a long term research project with a significant chance of failure and little chance of short term profit

From Quake to Quick (Score:2)

by Impy the Impiuos Imp ( 442658 )

Not bad for something that plays Quake without the softeare renderer.

-- Scintillate, scintillate, asteroid minikin.
-- Members of an avian species of identical plumage congregate.
-- Surveillance should precede saltation.
-- Pulchritude possesses solely cutaneous profundity.
-- It is fruitless to become lachrymose over precipitately departed
lacteal fluid.
-- Freedom from incrustations of grime is contiguous to rectitude.
-- It is fruitless to attempt to indoctrinate a superannuated
canine with innovative maneuvers.
-- Eschew the implement of correction and vitiate the scion.
-- The temperature of the aqueous content of an unremittingly
galled saucepan does not reach 212 degrees Farenheit.