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OpenAI to buy electricity from CEO Sam Altman's nuclear fusion side hustle

28 points by miles 2y ago

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
itsoktocry 2y ago
Nothing more "late stage capitalism" than corporate governance going right out the window. I don't think these transactions are inherently or automatically bad, but the fact that they are happening with little scrutiny - even being cheered on- is bad. "We like Elon! We like Sam! They are doing cool things and should be able to do what they want!" That's all well and good when it's your guys, but you'll think differently when it's not.
QuadmasterXLII 2y ago
This is just grift?
tithe 2y ago
Any businessman with sense is going to be thinking about the nth-order effects of their product beyond their immediate industry, and strategically position themselves in/around those adjacent industries so they can benefit. What is especially interesting is when a connection is made public and it turns out firms that appear to be "in the right place at the right time" were in that place months / years before it paid off. What did they see / understand that everyone else didn't? > nuclear fusion side hustle "So what do you do outside of work?" "I build nuclear fusion power plants."
- toomuchtodo 2y ago
  This is an overly generous interpretation vs plain ‘ol self dealing, using OpenAI’s current financial potential to fund his highly speculative venture.
  - tithe 2y ago
    OK, I could see that. > and super lab's auditors promise to check for conflicts of interest How would this check proceed, then? Accept the self-dealing fact but call it something else, and accept the funding? And just who are these auditors? (Forgive my naivety regarding human behavior in business as portrayed in books vs real-life!)
more_corn 2y ago
Except fusion doesn’t work. It’s projected to be energy positive and cost effective in ten years. Which is what they’ve been saying for the last sixty.
tim333 2y ago
There's something a bit odd about haggling over deals when Helion or any fusion effort has yet to produce any net energy at all. Still I'm curious how Helion do when they turn on their latest machine, supposedly this summer. Nuclear engineer on their stuff: https://youtu.be/lb7GXi0ZvYw https://youtu.be/lb7GXi0ZvYw his conclusion - some promise but a long way off power production.
renegade-otter 2y ago
I am noticing that Sam Altman has one skill - positioning himself near tons of money via connections he has accumulated by winning the birth lottery, be it the Orb crypto scam, the relentless hype pyramid that is AI and, hey, watch this space - looks like cold fusion will be the next big thing.

28 points by miles 2y ago

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

Nothing more "late stage capitalism" than corporate governance going right out the window. I don't think these transactions are inherently or automatically bad, but the fact that they are happening with little scrutiny - even being cheered on- is bad. "We like Elon! We like Sam! They are doing cool things and should be able to do what they want!" That's all well and good when it's your guys, but you'll think differently when it's not.

QuadmasterXLII 2y ago

This is just grift?

tithe 2y ago

Any businessman with sense is going to be thinking about the nth-order effects of their product beyond their immediate industry, and strategically position themselves in/around those adjacent industries so they can benefit. What is especially interesting is when a connection is made public and it turns out firms that appear to be "in the right place at the right time" were in that place months / years before it paid off. What did they see / understand that everyone else didn't? > nuclear fusion side hustle "So what do you do outside of work?" "I build nuclear fusion power plants."

toomuchtodo 2y ago
This is an overly generous interpretation vs plain ‘ol self dealing, using OpenAI’s current financial potential to fund his highly speculative venture.
- tithe 2y ago
  OK, I could see that. > and super lab's auditors promise to check for conflicts of interest How would this check proceed, then? Accept the self-dealing fact but call it something else, and accept the funding? And just who are these auditors? (Forgive my naivety regarding human behavior in business as portrayed in books vs real-life!)

more_corn 2y ago

Except fusion doesn’t work. It’s projected to be energy positive and cost effective in ten years. Which is what they’ve been saying for the last sixty.

tim333 2y ago

There's something a bit odd about haggling over deals when Helion or any fusion effort has yet to produce any net energy at all. Still I'm curious how Helion do when they turn on their latest machine, supposedly this summer. Nuclear engineer on their stuff: https://youtu.be/lb7GXi0ZvYw https://youtu.be/lb7GXi0ZvYw his conclusion - some promise but a long way off power production.

renegade-otter 2y ago

I am noticing that Sam Altman has one skill - positioning himself near tons of money via connections he has accumulated by winning the birth lottery, be it the Orb crypto scam, the relentless hype pyramid that is AI and, hey, watch this space - looks like cold fusion will be the next big thing.