Joe

If Microsoft lets the patent sit idle and refuses to license it to others, it would be a very good thing for a few years. Let’s see what happens, though.

Current demand for AI seems anything but slow… do you think this hardware is being hoarded by large buyers, instead of being put to commercial use ASAP?

Whether it takes 3 months or 5 years to pay for itself is a valid Q though, and there is an element of risk that these companies take on with large hardware purchases in a rapidly evolving industry. Ultimately profits will need to cover any debts they take on, and there’s only so much private investment money to go around… I expect to see more consolidation as this plays out.

Owning datacenters with secure energy sources seems like a safe bet though, and is probably the bigger initial investment.

infrastructure, which will be radically cheaper when the bubble pops

I wouldn’t count on that unless the popping sound is nuclear. Demand for AI is not going anywhere, even when companies fail and investors lose out.

What will improve prices for everyone is better algorithms and more efficient chips for them, helping supply to catch up with demand.

Too many lawyers already do half-assed work, and they have already been doing it faster with LLMs. Laymen usually won’t know the difference.

If specialist skills and tools can lead to less shoddy results in spite of endemic human incompetence or similar, it will be better for the average consumer of legal services.

And in the hands of competent and engaged lawyers, better tools are a huge boon.

A game changer (already) is that laymen can often now avoid lawyers altogether as complex laws, contractual terms and procedures can now often be explained in plain english/dutch/swahili by chatbots, helping them to make better and timely decisions.

Note: This is a world-wide phenomenon, with judges, paralegals, prosecutors, police, and end users also reaching for or being impacted by AI these days.