Just to make it clear: I do not believe this and I am convinced good old human greed is what’s really driving the ai and data-center insanity. Also, LLMs are not and will never become AGI.
Having said that: if an artificial super-intelligence were to emerge, building more data-centers could well be one of it’s primary goals. Since it wouln’t be concerned with consequences for the environment or humanity, it could pursue this at any cost, with only speed and scale in mind. Convincing financial markets and business elites of the necessity of such a buildout would be the ideal way of achieving results. In this scenario, fighting this buildout by any means would be the only sensible response and of utmost importance.
It’s a somewhat funny, somewhat depressing thought for me and I literally had it in the shower. Surely I can’t be the first to come up with this, but I also can’t remember having read it before.
It’s greed, and greed is driving that other desire.
It’s not. Do you know any rich people? They are way beyond thinking about money. It doesn’t even enter into conversations. They are so used to having money that they don’t ever think about money.
When you are in that category, you want other things, like recognition and status from your peers. In some groups, that comes from having a lot of power and being listened to by other powerful people.
Money is the thing that gets you the thing you want.