🌶 David Gray Widder

Why they matter

Researcher with public evidence across AI research, Compute & infrastructure.

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3d ago
View every signal from 🌶 David Gray Widder →
Assistant Prof at UT Austin's iSchool. Big Tech, political economy, AI hype, AI in War trying to help computer ppl think more critically about computer, including me exCornell/CMU/NASA/MSR/IntelLabs. davidwidder.me

Articles & links

🌶 David Gray Widder reposted
Ed Zitron @edzitron.com

In the end, it's all pretty simple: hyperscaler growth is now tied to the ability of OpenAI and Anthropic to spend hundreds of billions of dollars, requiring both the demand, funds and completed capacity to do so. Their futures depend on the impossible. www.wheresyoured.at/don…

Don't Look Up wheresyoured.at
AI Weekly's analysis
  • Zitron writes OpenAI and Anthropic account for "70% or more of the AI revenues of Microsoft, Google, and Amazon", with both losing tens of billions annually.
  • The two labs "raised a combined $217 billion in the first half of 2026" and "they'll have to raise $150 billion each" in 2027.
  • Against 190GW of planned capacity needing $1.62-$2.92 trillion in annual demand, Zitron concludes: "If Microsoft doesn't have the demand, nobody has the demand."
Read full analysis →
View on Bluesky →

Once again, everyone is now worried there's an AI bubble. It is, and it will deflate. But deflating doesn't undo the harmful effects, as @histoftech.bsky.social and I wrote back in 2024… ash.harvard.edu/resources/wa...

Watching the Generative AI Hype Bubble Deflate – Ash Center ash.harvard.edu
AI Weekly's analysis
  • Goldman Sachs and Sequoia Capital publicly questioned whether generative AI costs are generating commensurate revenue, signaling the hype peak.
  • U.S. coal plant retirements slowed by 40% amid AI energy demand; Microsoft abandoned its 2030 carbon-negative goal as emissions climbed 30% since 2020.
  • The authors argue the bubble's deflation will not reverse environmental damage, labor displacement in creative fields, or erosion of information quality.
Read full analysis →
View on Bluesky · ♥ 36 ↻ 9 ↩ 2 · 2 from the directory shared this · 87d ago
🌶 David Gray Widder reposted
Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app

I love it when companies offer free shovels to dig your own grave.

Anthropic is giving teachers free access to premium Claude features, details here - 9to5Mac 9to5mac.com
AI Weekly's analysis
  • Anthropic is giving verified US K-12 teachers a free year of premium Claude, including Cowork and Code, with enrollment open through June 30, 2027.
  • The offering normally costs $20 per month and includes Claude Opus 4.6, higher usage limits, unlimited Projects, and a Learning Commons connector.
  • Educator accounts have model training off by default and FERPA-aligned terms, with Anthropic saying a dedicated schools and districts offering is next.
Read full analysis →
View on Bluesky →
🌶 David Gray Widder reposted
@geryon.bsky.social

Nvidia buys Hugging Face: Yeah ok @davidthewid.bsky.social @meredithmeredith.bsky.social & @smw.bsky.social had the full story in “Open (For Business)” papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.... Under the at least US-led political economy “open” projects WILL be tools of big SV tech & (t…

papers.ssrn.com View on Bluesky →

🚨Finally published: How does the US Military enlist AI researchers in war? @siree.sh, Lucy Suchman and I examine 7k US Military grant solicitations for AI research, and show how even "Basic Research" enlists researchers in a warfighting agenda. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177…

journals.sagepub.com
View on Bluesky · ♥ 77 ↻ 44 ↩ 7 · 2 from the directory shared this · 60d ago

Hi Victor (and thanks Hagen!) - this is the paper of mine Hagen was referring to: bsky.app/profile/mere... And a longer preprint: davidwidder.me/open.pdf

davidwidder.me
View on Bluesky · ♥ 4 ↻ 1 ↩ 0 · 2 from the directory shared this · 24d ago

Recent commentary

I am teaching an undergrad course called "🤖AI, Hype, and Capitalism 🤑" — yes, the emojis are mandatory 😤. I was told undergrads are Not Well. But after reading responses to the intake survey, I am SO EXCITED FOR CLASS TOMORROW:

View on Bluesky · ♥ 9 ↻ 1 ↩ 2 · 13d ago

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