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Are you referring to the Stargate Project? I guess so, since there weren't any other 500 billion USD AI projects announced recently in the USA. Construction of

by troymc 1y ago

Are you referring to the Stargate Project? I guess so, since there weren't any other 500 billion USD AI projects announced recently in the USA. Construction of the first data center Abilene, Texas site is ongoing. Emily Chang visited the site over a month ago and got video footage [1]. So it's not nothing. Will they actually invest 500 billion in the end? I dunno; I guess we'll see. The main challenges seem to be the availability of electrical power and skilled workers, not demand, investment or ambition. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhIJs4zbH0o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhIJs4zbH0o

skeeter2020 1y ago
So if we build one data center a year, how long will it take to invest 500B? Will Trump still be president for that parade?
- g0db1t 1y ago
  [dead]
- vel0city 1y ago
  The one location will probably be several billion dollars. The $500B initiative is supposed to be spread across 20 or so locations.
  - diamond559 1y ago
    It doesn't matter how many locations they spread it over, they aren't spending that much money in under 20 years on chatbots and buggy code writers. Maybe if a massive unforeseen breakthrough comes and breaks us past the wall of diminishing returns we've hit.
- ahmeneeroe-v2 1y ago
  Nvidia's data center revenue was $39B last quarter. Between chips and electric/cooling infrastructure, a billion dollars doesn't get you far. Obviously $500B is a lot of money, but it's not actually an unbelievable amount of money.
simpaticoder 1y ago
The overall impression I get of such projects is that politicians celebrate the funding victory, and then forget about it. Then the project's funds get eaten up by administrative costs over time. Ezra Klien [1] recently highlighted two such examples: high speed rail in CA, and rural broadband subsidies. Personally, I haven't seen much, if anything, actually spent out of Biden's infrastructure bill. The money from these programs just seems to...vanish. Allowing this to happen undermines the idea that the USG is a trustworthy spender of our money. I would personally prefer it if political success wasn't just grabbing more budget, but actually overseeing successful execution of public projects. 1 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcZxaFfxloo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcZxaFfxloo
- Loughla 1y ago
  I have fiber, as do the 9 counties around mine because of rural broadband investment. My sister moved to downstate Illinois, and most rural counties offer high speed Internet if not straight up fiber now. Go to flyover States to see the impact of that money.
  - rnrn 1y ago
    Are these instances actually funded by 2021 IIJA BEAD program? I don’t think Illinois has actually awarded any of that funding to providers to build anything yet. It looks like the original schedule was to start awarding grants this summer after planning process from 2021-2025. https://dceo.illinois.gov/broadband/bead.html https://dceo.illinois.gov/broadband/bead.html
    - Loughla 1y ago
      That's round 4.
      - inemesitaffia 1y ago
        If your run was government funded, it was under RDOF
- 1y ago

by troymc 1y ago

skeeter2020 1y ago

So if we build one data center a year, how long will it take to invest 500B? Will Trump still be president for that parade?

g0db1t 1y ago
[dead]
vel0city 1y ago
The one location will probably be several billion dollars. The $500B initiative is supposed to be spread across 20 or so locations.
- diamond559 1y ago
  It doesn't matter how many locations they spread it over, they aren't spending that much money in under 20 years on chatbots and buggy code writers. Maybe if a massive unforeseen breakthrough comes and breaks us past the wall of diminishing returns we've hit.
ahmeneeroe-v2 1y ago
Nvidia's data center revenue was $39B last quarter. Between chips and electric/cooling infrastructure, a billion dollars doesn't get you far. Obviously $500B is a lot of money, but it's not actually an unbelievable amount of money.

simpaticoder 1y ago

The overall impression I get of such projects is that politicians celebrate the funding victory, and then forget about it. Then the project's funds get eaten up by administrative costs over time. Ezra Klien [1] recently highlighted two such examples: high speed rail in CA, and rural broadband subsidies. Personally, I haven't seen much, if anything, actually spent out of Biden's infrastructure bill. The money from these programs just seems to...vanish. Allowing this to happen undermines the idea that the USG is a trustworthy spender of our money. I would personally prefer it if political success wasn't just grabbing more budget, but actually overseeing successful execution of public projects. 1 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcZxaFfxloo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcZxaFfxloo

Loughla 1y ago
I have fiber, as do the 9 counties around mine because of rural broadband investment. My sister moved to downstate Illinois, and most rural counties offer high speed Internet if not straight up fiber now. Go to flyover States to see the impact of that money.
- rnrn 1y ago
  Are these instances actually funded by 2021 IIJA BEAD program? I don’t think Illinois has actually awarded any of that funding to providers to build anything yet. It looks like the original schedule was to start awarding grants this summer after planning process from 2021-2025. https://dceo.illinois.gov/broadband/bead.html https://dceo.illinois.gov/broadband/bead.html
  - Loughla 1y ago
    That's round 4.
    - inemesitaffia 1y ago
      If your run was government funded, it was under RDOF
1y ago