Heat of AI investment and friction in the field
Investment in AI infrastructure is said to be supporting the U.S. economy, and Anthropic will invest $100 million in human resources development. The numbers are large and give the impression of continued growth. On the other hand, it has been reported that middle school students are seeking AI friends rather than human friends, and parents and teachers are protesting against the introduction of AI in schools. The speed at which adoption spreads is not the same as the speed at which its impact becomes apparent. This article sequentially traces developments in finance, government, education, creative writing, and professional fields, and shifts the perspective from the scale of the work to who is responsible for the costs and responsibilities. I would like to give readers who follow the expansion numbers a clue so that they do not overlook the changes that are occurring behind the scenes.
There is a view that investment in AI infrastructure is supporting the current U.S. economy. LinkedIn's co-founder said AI infrastructure is "the only reason we're not in a recession" (Business Insider). Funds will go towards human resources as well as equipment. Anthropic says it will invest $100 million in the Cloud Frontier Academy to train 10,000 engineers. Additionally, Anthropic's $2 trillion AI initiative has been reported (calcalistech.com). Because equipment, human resources, and financial plans are all getting bigger, if you only look at the scale of introduction, it's easy to get the impression that growth will continue.
However, an article about the same concept points out that it is built on a series of contradictions (calcalistech.com). The presence of large numbers is not in itself proof that the assumptions supporting those numbers are solid. If the economy is dependent on AI infrastructure, the impact will be greater if that premise breaks down. The Cato Institute (cato.org), a U.S. think tank, argues that even a slowdown in AI could cause severe economic disruption. A condition readers of investment plans should keep in mind is that even a deceleration, rather than a sudden decline, can have ripple effects.
There are also movements at hand that indicate a wavering of the premise. New York AI company leases 2.2 million square feet as entry-level hiring slows (citybiz). Although offices are expanding, the number of entrances is decreasing. If the plan to train 10,000 engineers is progressing, but the number of new recruits is shrinking, it is necessary to separately check the training numbers and the actual employment situation. An American man has also been arrested on suspicion of being involved in a $300 million scheme to smuggle Nvidia AI servers to China (South China Morning Post). Strong demand has also given rise to efforts to bypass supply controls.
