What on Earth Is OpenAI Doing? (Sam)

Two from The Guardian. First up, the background, April 9:

OpenAI shelves Stargate UK in blow to Britain’s AI ambitions 
Artificial intelligence company cites high energy costs and regulation for putting landmark project on hold

OpenAI has put on hold plans for a landmark UK investment citing high energy costs and regulation, in a blow to the government which has put AI at the centre of its growth strategy.

Stargate UK was a part of the UK-US AI deal announced last September, in which US companies appeared to commit £31bn to the UK’s tech sector, part of a larger series of investments intended to “mainline AI” into the British economy....

....MUCH MORE 

After the Guardian did some digging it now appears that OpenAI never intended to build the data center.

July 4:

OpenAI’s apparent failure to visit key site raises questions over UK investment
Exclusive: £20bn of ‘potential’ £30bn AI investment touted by UK ministers appears to have been hypothetical 

It was to be the biggest undertaking in Britain for OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT. Stargate UK – a multibillion-pound UK datacentre project – would represent “a major step forward in the US-UK technology partnership”.

But the plans were paused in April, with an OpenAI spokesperson citing concerns over regulation and high energy costs.

Now the Guardian can reveal that OpenAI does not appear to have visited one of Stargate UK’s key sites – and that £20bn of the “potential” £30bn in investment touted by the UK government appears to have been totally hypothetical.

The findings raise questions about one of the most-hyped UK AI developments, and suggest a centrepiece of US-UK AI cooperation was in fact little more than a press release....

....MUCH MORE 

As readers who have been with us for a while already know (and are probably getting tired of hearing) I'm more than a bit concerned by the actions of OpenAI and their enabler. SoftBank. 

We may have to institute a portfolio rule forbidding companies whose names are spelled in CamelCase. 
[or more specifically in coding, PascalCase]

A previous example: "WeWork Thinks The Unthinkable: Changes in Governance Structure (WEE)" 

See also: CreditWatch.