4 ms·

Archived 2012 discussion invokes Oxford English Dictionary to trace the original use back several 100 years. http://www.techwr-l.com/archives/1206/techwhirl-120

• mannykannot 8y ago
  In those examples, however, the meaning is, in current usage, 'calculation' or 'computation', not as a measure of computational work.
  • tshadley 8y ago
    > In those examples, however, the meaning is, in current usage, 'calculation' or 'computation', not as a measure of computational work. So is the OP: "We’re releasing an analysis showing that since 2012, the amount of compute [amount of calculation, amount of computation] used in the largest AI training runs has been increasing exponentially with a 3.5 month-doubling time " Without loss of meaning, title could be AI and Calculation, or AI and Computation
    • mannykannot 8y ago
      To be clearer, I should have written 'a calculation' and 'a computation', as in the examples of the older usage, 'compute' is a singular noun, referring to a specific calculation, and the acceptability of substituting, under current usage, 'compute' for 'computation' here (where the latter is shorthand for computational work or effort, rather than referring to a specific calculation), has no bearing on the usage five centuries ago - and nor does the usage five centuries ago have any particular relevance for today, given how much computation has changed since then.
    • igravious 8y ago
      I think compute stands in for computing power so `amount of compute' to me means `amount of computing power'. If I were to use the terms calculation or computation I'd pluralise them so you'd get `amount of calculations' and `amount of computations' from `amount of compute'.