this post was submitted on 03 Oct 2024
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Cash incinerator OpenAI secures its $6.6 billion lifeline — ‘in the spirit of a donation’ (pivot-to-ai.com)
submitted 2 months ago by dgerard@awful.systems to c/techtakes@awful.systems
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[–] luciole@beehaw.org 12 points 2 months ago (3 children)

In the spirit of donation with the understanding that it may be difficult to know what role money will play in a post-AGI world.

That is downright cultish. Typical of gurus to ask ludicrous sums and mention in the same breath that nobody'll need money anyway once Eden/Apocalypse descends upon us.

The investors are all bubble chasers. The only plan is to take OpenAI to an initial public offering and then dump the shares on retail investors before the AI bubble pops.

I'm humbly asking for someone smarter than me to clarify this. Does this mean the big money people are planning to dump their shit on the rest of us so that when genAI goes down its our savings that go "pop"?

[–] froztbyte@awful.systems 8 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

"retail investors" is a bit of a term of art, counterpointed to "institutional investors". translations: "public market investors", "people whose whole thing is doing investment"

institutionals are The Investment Firms Whose Names You Hear About, and they invest in the still-private (at the time) company, which allows the two parties involved to set specific terms and commitments and preferences, etc

the game that's been played by a bunch of bayfuckers for a couple years now is as follows:

  1. pour money into something, whether bullshit or not
  2. hype the everliving fuck out of it
  3. spend enough to destroy/outlive "related"/"relevant" competition, if necessary
  4. if still alive, live long enough to go public
  5. pull in piles of retail market money
  6. sell and get out before the hot air escapes the balloon
  7. (optional) write about Your Incredible Journey

what's quite frustrating is how often this still works, because of dynamics of FOMO and other shit

so that when genAI goes down its our savings that go “pop”?

as to this, It's Complicated™️. depends on whether the places your money is kept ends up getting allocated into shares on shit like this, etc. it could or couldn't happen, and the only real way to know is to keep an eye on the financial-entity decision-makers in the entities involved

[–] dgerard@awful.systems 6 points 2 months ago (1 children)

tl;dr more or less, yes. Specifically suckers who think shares in OpenAI are a winner. See also how the VCs got out of never-profitable Uber with an IPO.

[–] froztbyte@awful.systems 4 points 2 months ago

damn you and your concision ;p

[–] V0ldek@awful.systems 4 points 2 months ago

Does this mean the big money people are planning to dump their shit on the rest of us so that when genAI goes down its our savings that go “pop”?

You know how crypto is about me selling you a useless and worthless token before anyone realises and the price collapses? Ye, that but with companies.

[–] DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social 11 points 2 months ago

Imagine "donating" to a fraudulent company owned by Microsoft

[–] Soyweiser@awful.systems 8 points 2 months ago

6,6 billion? Joseph Weizenbaum realizes he made a big mistake in his reaction to ELIZA. Could have been rich and infamous, instead of just famous.

[–] JeeBaiChow@lemmy.world 6 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Don't forget they also ask their donors not to hedge invest in other ai startups...

[–] froztbyte@awful.systems 10 points 2 months ago (1 children)

yeah, which is rather lol

"please believe in meeeeeeeeeee"

afaik it's not illegal but I have a strong feeling that quite a number of Typical OpenAI Practices And Behaviours are going to inform what becomes anathema and what becomes illegal in the coming years, because ho boy

[–] V0ldek@awful.systems 5 points 2 months ago

Typical OpenAI Practices And Behaviours are going to inform what becomes anathema

Thou shalt not make a grift machine in the likeness of OpenAI