OpenAI, Oracle, SoftBank Plan Five New AI Data Centers For $500 Billion Stargate Project (reuters.com) 27
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank on Tuesday announced plans for five new artificial intelligence data centers in the United States to build out their ambitious Stargate project. [...] ChatGPT-maker OpenAI said on Tuesday it will open three new sites with Oracle in Shackelford County, Texas, Dona Ana County, New Mexico and an undisclosed site in the Midwest. Two more data center sites will be built in Lordstown, Ohio and Milam County, Texas by OpenAI, Japan's SoftBank and a SoftBank affiliate.
The new sites, the Oracle-OpenAI site expansion in Abilene, Texas, and the ongoing projects with CoreWeave will bring Stargate's total data center capacity to nearly 7 gigawatts and more than $400 billion in investment over the next three years, OpenAI said. The $500 billion project was intended to generate 10 gigawatts in total data center capacity. "AI can only fulfill its promise if we build the compute to power it," OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in a statement. The Tuesday's announcement, expected to create 25,000 onsite jobs, follows Nvidia saying on Monday that it will invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI and supply data center chips. OpenAI and partners plan to use debt financing to lease chips for the Stargate project, people familiar with the matter said.
The new sites, the Oracle-OpenAI site expansion in Abilene, Texas, and the ongoing projects with CoreWeave will bring Stargate's total data center capacity to nearly 7 gigawatts and more than $400 billion in investment over the next three years, OpenAI said. The $500 billion project was intended to generate 10 gigawatts in total data center capacity. "AI can only fulfill its promise if we build the compute to power it," OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in a statement. The Tuesday's announcement, expected to create 25,000 onsite jobs, follows Nvidia saying on Monday that it will invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI and supply data center chips. OpenAI and partners plan to use debt financing to lease chips for the Stargate project, people familiar with the matter said.
Facebook's new data center (Score:5, Insightful)
When I say that AI is an antisocial technology that's what I mean. I don't mean anti-social in the sense of being mean or not wanting to play with the other kids. I mean it's genuinely against the goals of a healthy society and civilization.
Everything is automated (Score:2)
so not much lasting jobs are created by such data centers compared to other industries.
And one can't feed a population with AI data centers. A pound of carrots can.
You don't even get local construction jobs (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Funny how when a power company needs to build a new power plant, and upgrade the power distribution infrastructure, those costs get spread out across the entire customer base, but then these AI datacenter projects only have the datacenters paying the cost of the electricity used and the IMMEDIATE connection expenses.
Make no mistake, the prices of EVERYONE go up to help the profits of wealthy business owners and corporations. The actual benefit to the public is a NEGATIVE.
Re: (Score:2)
Your own logic makes the case. These datacenters pay for their own costs, thus do not increase costs for others.
Except THEY DON'T PAY FOR IT.
They pass the cost directly to the residential neighborhoods.
The data centers do not pay for the power generator nor the nfrastructure (wires and transformers). The local government agrees to this consumer-fucking because of corruption. The people speak loudly and object and vote NO on referendums, and the county ignores it. It is impossible to vote out these people. They have big money behind them and routinely ignore the will of the voters. They are corrupt.
And then people wo
Re: (Score:2)
yet no one equates farms with environmental collapse.
Farming is constantly under attack over environmental issues. Cow farts causing global warming. Excessive water use. Run off and water contamination.
Most of the attacks are hyperbole based on cluelessness and misinformation. But, the mob mentality against farming is terrifying. I don't know what the pearl clutchers plan to eat.
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
No shot, farmers are probably the second most venerated people in America outside of active military. Hell farmers are celebrated more than most veterans I would say. Every campaign has a big focus around farmers, news agencies sitting in Iowa diners getting the scoop on what the "real Americans" think.
This idea that farmers are under attack is a conservative media creation intended to further the rural/urban divide, that's why issues like water use and run off are framed as "attacks" instead of legitimat
Re: (Score:2)
Excerpt that farming produces actual food for human beings, while the datacenters for AI produce nothing but imaginary money for billionaires.
Power/Water Sucking (Score:2)
This panic narrative about AI sucking up all the water and bankrupting locals on power bills misrepresents the reality. While data centers that train and run AI models do consume electricity and water for cooling, their footprint is small compared to heavy industries like manufacturing or agriculture.
The problem is that they are situating some of these data centers in residential areas. There is no industry or agriculture or other heavy users of power and water there. Just homes (and offices, car dealerships, grocery stores, etc.) The result is that there are water and power crisis in the neighborhoods, and the consumer prices for those utilities skyrocket,
This is where the county board of supervisors should be publicly hanged after being shot to death. But big money controls the politics, and so we ar
Re: Facebook's new data center (Score:2)
It takes an lot of power to dial an star gate
Re: (Score:2)
It's a hell of a good cover story!
The Chinese have already proven by example that you don't need such massive electricity to train and run the AIs. But the Americans, with their superior tech, can't match that. They need multiple power plants, out in the dessert where nobody can see what's going on, to power their AI chips.
Huge amounts of power, that goes into a black box where we can't see what it really is. A trickle goes to the AI data center. Meanwhile, some levels underground, we are locking chevron 6
Stargate (Score:3)
Wasn't that about false gods?
Re: (Score:2)
Wasn't [Stargate] about false gods?
As I recall, it was about killing false gods. ;)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
That's only if you see the main cast as the good guys...
Yeah, I'm sure Libertarians see the Goa'uld as merely minding their own business when a group of "law breakers" started messing up their operations. A very "what business is it of Earth's to disrupt their societies" approach, while completely disregards the fact that they were all genocidal tyrants that enslaved people as they saw fit.
I Will Totally Believe It... (Score:5, Insightful)
I will totally believe it when I say it.
There has been an awful lot of $500 billion promises from the tech sector lately. I don't believe a word of it.
openAI seems to be at the heart of all the bubbly news lately. There are too many promises and too much irrational exuberance.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
12 times the cost of the Manhattan project (Score:1)
Stargate won't go 'bang' though, it will go 'psssss' as all the air comes out of this crazy bubble.
Your doing it wrong. (Score:2)
Here comes Skynet (Score:2)
Wouldn't it make more sense ... (Score:2)
Which promise is that again? (Score:2)
They can plan and promise all they want (Score:2)
They don't have the money and haven't shown any hint of a way AI can make money in the first place. They just promise ever increasing circular agreements (nvidia will invest billions in openAI, so openAI can buy billion in nvidia chips, etc) and hope private equity will keep flowing...