[criddell]

You could have asked the same question in 1964 when IBM released the System/360. Nice computer, but who will pay for it and who will have access to it?

I think it’s inevitable that these AI’s will end up costing almost nothing to use and will be available to everybody. GPT-4 is already less than $1 / day and that’s only going to go down.

[thatfatboy]

> GPT-4 is already less than $1 / day and that’s only going to go down.

but only the Government has access to it uncensored.

[eesmith]

I do not think that's a good example. A lot of people jumped on the chance to buy a 360. Here are some quotes from https://archive.org/details/datamation0064unse_no5/page/68/m... :

> The internal IBM reaction could be characterized as quiet, smug elation. One office is supposed to have sold its yearly quota on A (Announcement) -Day. In Texas, a man allegedly interrupted the 360 presentation to demand he be allowed to order one right then . . . which sounds like a combination plant and a new version of the rich Texan jokes. ...

> the 360 announcement has to worry the competition considerably . . . partly because anything new from IBM creates an automatic bandwagon effect, partly because the completeness of the new line offers less reason for people to look outside. ...

> another feels that the economic incentive (rental cuts of 50 per cent for 7080, 7090) will force him down the 360 route. And he thinks 360 interrupt features will open the door to real-time applications which can be approached on an incremental basis impossible before. ...

> One maverick doesn’t share the enthusiasm of his company, which ordered “plenty” of 360’s within an hour of the announcement, without price agreements.

And from https://archive.org/details/bitsavers_Electronic9640504_9809... :

> Other computer manufacturers profess to be unworried, but International Business Machines Corp. has received millions of dollars in orders for its system/360 computer [Electronics, April 20, p. 101].

Here are some of the people who paid for it in 1964:

https://archive.org/details/sim_computers-and-people_1964_13...

> "Men's Fashion Firm Orders IBM System/360 Computer," 13/7 (July)

> "Score of IBM System/360's to be Leased by Paper Company,” 13/8 (Aug.)

The Albert Government Telephone Commission bought two: https://archive.org/details/annualreportofa1964albe_0/page/1...

[criddell]

All I’m really saying is that new technology is often only available to the wealthy (companies, governments and rich Texans) but eventually things get cheaper and more widely available. It was hard to get access to IBM System/360 levels of computation in 1964 and in 2024 most of us have far more capabilities in the inexpensive machines in our pockets.

I think these new AIs will follow similar curves. Hard to get access to and expensive to use at first. Over time they will get more powerful and less expensive. GPT4 is already less than $1 / day.

[eesmith]

Then you should structure your point about computing in general, and not be specific to the IBM 360.

In 1964 it made no sense to say "I'm concerned about who will get access to it (or rather who won't get access to it) and what it will cost or who will pay for it" about the IBM 360 because that system was available to the same customers as the previous generation of machines, plus it made computing more widely affordable to other customers.

While Gemini appears to be more expensive than thus less generally available than other LLMs.

[Sakos]

I didn't ask it then. I wasn't even alive. I'm asking now. It is a legitimate concern and continues to be a concern with these AI models and you whining that "oh but 50 years ago bla bla" (as if these two things are in any way comparable) doesn't change anything about the risks of selective access.