371–380 of 436 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'd imagine those 300K years they're not just working 40 hours a week, more like 70+ hours. Add higher taxes on those years and it becomes less attractive.
Oooof. I pity the poor fool who has to pay taxes on their 300k annual salary.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
the datacenter demand wouldn't evaporate, it will probably change instead - i expect that the datacenters will soon be built like pre-fab homes or like the Liberty ships - the fastest ship was built in less than 5 days. In such a module-based construction you can optimize layout and the fabrication sequence so that the labor is minimized and simplified - like for example you'd be simply laying down wire instead of ru…
Isn’t the whole SpaceX fantasy to just launch data centers into space?
Anyway, that demonstrates another way of datacenters getting modularized. The point is that the actual volume of datacenters to be produced calls for the mass production assembly line style. The one-off custom built approach becomes unsustainable.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Ummmm in time it's inevitable as in 2026 you do not need any skill to be a computer programmer. AI has replaced that once valuable skill and will continue it's way through ever white collar job til the robots (5 to 10 years) start taking the blue collar jobs away. The blue collar job boom is great present day, but what they are helping build is their machine driven replacement. Maybe this all sounds hyperbolic, but i…
Vibe coding by people with no programming skills is not going to happen. What will happen is moving to higher and higher code representations. A compiler is already doing 99% of the actual coding when you realize that the only language computers understand is assembly.
Hate to break it to you but it is happening, increasingly at the business stakeholder interface later.
> A compiler is already doing 99% of the actual coding when you realize that the only language computers understand is assembly.
Most of the value in the software engineering process isn't in the compiler, it's in deducing the requirements and weighing tradeoffs for various solution paths. LLMs have now automated the next step: translating human language requirements and specifications to code.
The compiler is just the last deterministic step, which while essential, is entirely commoditized in the value chain. When was the last time you paid for a compiler?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
>I'm not even talking about at work, I'm saying that a large majority of Americans are using AI of their own free will in situations where it's not required but is genuinely useful. The sheer number of people means that a lot of them must also say they're anti-AI, and my point is that whether or not they say they like it they're undeniably choosing to use it. I don't think there's really a contradiction there. You ca…
If people are using it presumably they're getting some value out of it which means that most objections to datacenters are NIMBYism and not some kind of principled stance. Datacenters are fine . They're better than most kinds of industrial buildings, by and large they don't illegally set up fields of gas turbines, and their water usage is really not that bad compared to other large users. They make for a few nice, hi…
Something can have a great deal of utility to everyone while simultaneously causing damage to a subset of people. Electricity is universally useful, but anyone downwind of a coal plant is hurt by air pollution even if they benefit from electricity. It's not contradictory for those people to ask for stricter controls on pollutant emissions.
Likewise with LLMs, they can provide a lot of utility to enterprises and individuals, while simultaneously causing damage to those individuals.
Hordes of now-fragile white collar workers are currently trying to use AI to figure out how not to be rendered obsolete by AI.
People who live near proposed datacenter sites are using LLMs, while also facing spiking utility costs due to the AI datacenters, and maybe significant quality of life regressions.
Everyone is trying to figure out how to maximize their own benefit from LLMs while simultaneously trying to put the costs of this technological revolution on others, and everyone has different positioning in that race, depending on their skills, adaptability, and privilege. This situation will test all individuals, institutions, and societies.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
[flagged]
I'm reminded of the phrase "regulations are written in blood". I'm also tempted to point out that anybody can give high-voltage work a whirl.... once. --- But what do I know, I'm not a sparky, I'm one of them snot-nosed software engineering types. Y'know, the one engineering field that's too free and clever to get licensed, bonded, insured, or unionized. /s Who needs regulation, anyways? I bet Matthew Broderick's War…
The guy who's day job includes dealing with "after the outlet" electrical stuff in an industrial setting is gonna be just as if not more qualified to hop on over into a data center or other industrial setting and to the actual "affixed to the building" wiring than some guy who's been doing residential houses and apartments for most of his career but holds the magic piece of paper that the ignorant think is more valuable than it is. He should be allowed to pay money, take whatever education to fill in gaps and take the tests and get the license without wasting years.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
[flagged]
As a guy who does HVAC as a hobby, this post is hilarious, nobody should take it seriously. I can see exactly where the practical experience would be invaluable.
Who do you think has more practical experience that will be relevant to spotting an error in a plan for some circuits that will bring power to some chillers?
Some guy who's spent 5yr installing outlets and light fixtures in luxury 5-over-1 apartment buildings for FANNG-twats and has the license to go with or some guy who's spent 5yr doing the machinery wiring and controls (i.e. "after the outlet" stuff you don't need a license for) in an cardboard manufacturing facility?
I'm not saying these people should be unlicensed. Frankly I don't care. If they're gonna be licensed though then the license should be accessible to those with the relevant skill and knowledge and not be a protectionist gate keeping exercise at the expense of everyone in society that needs access to this kind of labor.
The comments in here speak volumes. Talk about being blinded by ideology.
I would be very careful about basing your career decsions based on this trend. The data center build out will always be very boom and bust, which would really suck to work in. One year you would be making 300k working on dataceters and the next you would make 30k because thousands of electricians are now competing to build a few single family homes.
Industrial electricians have always been in the boom-bust cycle. IBEW (Union electricians) have been doing really well this decade. Another option if you don't want to be a contractor or an Anthropic employee. But they've also gone years without enough work to go around. Scroll down to this comment for a better discussion than I could give: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49098874
There are a few Data Centers going up within a couple hours of me, it has pulled all of the trades people away from us. I've called around to every electrician I can find online, or been recommended by neighbors, they are all out of town for the foreseeable future. Same with HVAC and to a lesser extent plumbers. I've had to learn a lot of skills this summer trying to get some repairs done on my house, and I've had to…
I assume this kind of thing is why every quote we got for dead-simple mini-split heat pump installation last year had an effective person-day labor rate of like $2.5k or more (we didn't end up paying, I mean my god, I'll just fucking do it at those prices, it'll take me twice as long as someone who does it every day, but that's insane). Electricians and HVAC workers with certs in crazy-high demand, I guess. Quotes fo…
You'll be enraged by how easy it is. And you'll be enraged not at the licensed trades for milking the system, but the white collar office types who act as if all this stuff is some temperamental voodoo that will melt down a nuclear power plant if you breath on it wrong.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
As a guy who does HVAC as a hobby, this post is hilarious, nobody should take it seriously. I can see exactly where the practical experience would be invaluable.
>I can see exactly where the practical experience would be invaluable. Who do you think has more practical experience that will be relevant to spotting an error in a plan for some circuits that will bring power to some chillers? Some guy who's spent 5yr installing outlets and light fixtures in luxury 5-over-1 apartment buildings for FANNG-twats and has the license to go with or some guy who's spent 5yr doing the mach…