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by contraposit 60 days ago
I can't run my business without electricity. Yet we don't fear of its access being revoked. Sam makes the comparison of intelligence to electricity a lot. So we are on the path to these systems becoming utilities.
3 comments

Electricity is heavily regulated. Is there any evidence that LLMs will be the same?
Was electricity regulated in the first decade of its existence?
I don't know but likely not. Factories were powered by steam then, and had a "power plant" on site. So they didn't convert to electricity until it was reliable and guaranteed.
Was anything regulated in those times? You could legally buy humans at that time.

But that doesn't mean we live with same standards. Lack of regulations in electricity led to a lot of deaths and disaster which is why it was regulated.

But we dont live in the start of 20th century, we live in 2026 and we must learn from the past instead of helbent on repeating it.

I would bet any amount that when the time comes to turn AI into a utility, they will fight it tooth and nail.
Comparing AI to electricity focusing on just one particular aspect (hey its like fuel guys!!) while completely ignoring all the structural difference between actual energy industries and big tech is really stupid.