Brainstorming further related ideas, given that investment appears to be a feasible point of leverage [not investment advice]:
The price of silver has skyrocketed in the past ~year. I understand that the supply of silver is not all that elastic, and demand is being driven in part by AI data centers. Buying physical silver could be a good way to get exposure to the AI boom (plus hedge inflation risk etc.) in a way that actually helps choke the supply of critical inputs to the AI boom, instead of adding fuel to the fire? (Disclaimer: About 10% of my portfolio is in silver.)
I think most people in this community are already wary of holding AI stocks. But from what I understand, most data center buildout is actually funded by private equity, corporate bonds, etc. Maybe someone could launch corporate bond/private equity ETFs which work to avoid investments in AI data centers? Then perhaps sell it on the basis of ESG too? Until then, could it make sense to divest US PE/corporate bonds in favor of foreign alternatives?
From a consumer perspective, how about nonprofit alternatives to products like ChatGPT? A nonprofit could sell access to open models with a consumer-friendly UI for a minimal cost, donating incidental profits to AI safety research, so people can use AI without funding AI research. If this existed, it could provide a satisfying call-to-action for AI pause activism, help with norm-shaping/coalition-creation, and build a mailing list of concerned citizens for future activism. (“Lessons for optimal philanthropists: Volunteer your time to an optimal charity. You may soon find yourself giving time and money.” source) I think this could be a great way to harness ambient anti-AI sentiment among artists, authors, and other “normies”. “I might use AI, I might even pay for it. But at least I’m not funding its development.”
Jensen Huang says AI doomer rhetoric is dissuading people from making AI investments (see also: various other coverage). This seems like a pretty good sign to me. Wonder if it would be worthwhile for activists to find + contact all of the outlets which covered this story, respond to his statements, and try to engage Huang in a public debate.
Brainstorming further related ideas, given that investment appears to be a feasible point of leverage [not investment advice]:
The price of silver has skyrocketed in the past ~year. I understand that the supply of silver is not all that elastic, and demand is being driven in part by AI data centers. Buying physical silver could be a good way to get exposure to the AI boom (plus hedge inflation risk etc.) in a way that actually helps choke the supply of critical inputs to the AI boom, instead of adding fuel to the fire? (Disclaimer: About 10% of my portfolio is in silver.)
I think most people in this community are already wary of holding AI stocks. But from what I understand, most data center buildout is actually funded by private equity, corporate bonds, etc. Maybe someone could launch corporate bond/private equity ETFs which work to avoid investments in AI data centers? Then perhaps sell it on the basis of ESG too? Until then, could it make sense to divest US PE/corporate bonds in favor of foreign alternatives?
From a consumer perspective, how about nonprofit alternatives to products like ChatGPT? A nonprofit could sell access to open models with a consumer-friendly UI for a minimal cost, donating incidental profits to AI safety research, so people can use AI without funding AI research. If this existed, it could provide a satisfying call-to-action for AI pause activism, help with norm-shaping/coalition-creation, and build a mailing list of concerned citizens for future activism. (“Lessons for optimal philanthropists: Volunteer your time to an optimal charity. You may soon find yourself giving time and money.” source) I think this could be a great way to harness ambient anti-AI sentiment among artists, authors, and other “normies”. “I might use AI, I might even pay for it. But at least I’m not funding its development.”