31–40 of 107 posts
>I find this very troubling for two reasons. First, while Claude and OpenAI are new, Google has been around for a long time. It should have thought better about pricing so that the tool is within the reach of the developing world. Why? I don't see a practical argument for why Google would want to offer this service at a massive loss.
Have a look at industrial accident data globally, considering underreporting in developing nations.
- Same, environmental accidents.
- Same, WMD proliferation, including chem, bio and nuclear.
- Same, malicious cyber.
Now, ask yourself if we have enough problems aligning & regulating AI at the moment?
Are we sure that in the name of laudable egalitarian ideals that we are prepared for the second and third order effects of broad global accessibility to AI, including frontier models?
A CS degree costs something like 124 yrs salary for someone in a low income nation—and it’s a much longer harder road. I’m not AI’s biggest fan, but arguably, this type of tech actually narrows the gap. Even if it’s expensive.
¹ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_equivalence
² Nor do they cost the same everywhere.
³ In the sense that it’s not a subscription. I get that in the US you may be paying for student loans for an unreasonably long time, but that’s not normal for the rest of the world.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
UK tuition fees £9,535/year - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tuition-fees-and-... £9,535/year * 3 year degree / 124 years ~= £231/year ~= 310 USD/year UN estimates GDP/capita of Yemen and Burundi were less than this, that Tajikistan has lower gross average monthly wages. Those are nominal, not PPP. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nomi... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countr…
For Yemen, you should look at the cost of a CS degree in Yemen, which is $ 700/year, not in a foreign country.
> Why would someone in Yemen have to go to UK to get a CS degree when they have multiple universities offering the same course.
Same reason they'd be using an American AI company instead of a cheaper one that e.g. runs on their phone.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Do you have a source for this claim?
UK tuition fees £9,535/year - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tuition-fees-and-... £9,535/year * 3 year degree / 124 years ~= £231/year ~= 310 USD/year UN estimates GDP/capita of Yemen and Burundi were less than this, that Tajikistan has lower gross average monthly wages. Those are nominal, not PPP. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nomi... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countr…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
UK tuition fees £9,535/year - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tuition-fees-and-... £9,535/year * 3 year degree / 124 years ~= £231/year ~= 310 USD/year UN estimates GDP/capita of Yemen and Burundi were less than this, that Tajikistan has lower gross average monthly wages. Those are nominal, not PPP. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nomi... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countr…
Why is the basis a high-tuition fee high-cost country? Many countries have much lower fees and costs, including Western ones. https://educationdata.org/average-cost-of-college-by-country
One issue I have with the widely used metric of 'Productivity per hours worked' - if I have a second apt I rent out to Bob for $1000, I have a 'productivity' of $6.25 per hour 'worked', despite nobody producing anything and nobody working for any length of time.
But that's the same with GDP: if you and me are living on an uninhabited island and grow/catch all of our food for consumption, our GDP is $0. If however I rent out my bungalow to you and rent yours instead, and I sell you all my food and buy your food instead, somehow our GDP skyrockets.
>I find this very troubling for two reasons. First, while Claude and OpenAI are new, Google has been around for a long time. It should have thought better about pricing so that the tool is within the reach of the developing world. Why? I don't see a practical argument for why Google would want to offer this service at a massive loss.
Luckily, a ChatGPT Pro subscription is not mandatory. It's not like one can't live without it.
I don't think it's got anything to do with ChatGPT, especially given that it has a generous free tier too, let alone a about much cheaper (than the pro) plus tier. It's an international economy problem, not an AI problem.