drs1969 (David Smith) 🇬🇧19h ago

RE: https://mastodon.social/@arstechnica/116283829304595946

Well... this 1st part doesn't attempt to answer the statement posed in the quote that of whether it is physically possible to build an ENTERPRISE class data centre in space. Specifically some sort of relatively low earth orbit.

The 1st showstopper to clear is bit flips from cosmic rays. In a ultra high density chipset with trillions of transisters operating at bleeding edge speed.

Heat management and power management are downstream of that 1st key problem.

Show threaddrs1969 (David Smith) 🇬🇧19h ago
Also in this article is reference to a modelling spreadsheet. Seen those before in space calculations... NASA used one to kiil the Columbia astronauts. So let's take a 'ready reckoner' model under advisement eh, before folks get too excited about things. Why? Because bitflips... the mass to orbit will be determined by how that is solved.
Show threaddrs1969 (David Smith) 🇬🇧

Took a wee trip down the #space #microprocessor rabbithole for this whole #AIDatacenter nonsense.
So state of the art microprocessor performance seems to be the BAE Systems RAD5545 SoC. It draws 35watts. It can do 3.6GFLOPS of compute performance. Everything is triple redundant & hardened.

A Samsung S26 ultra clocks in at 1000x the compute capability... that's running a state of the art 3nm process...

Space Karen is talking about a mythical 2nm orbital class chip process...
It's a Scam!

Mar 24 at 1:46pmWeb
Show threaddrs1969 (David Smith) 🇬🇧13h ago

Right then, yet more, sorta, on space karen and tbe #Orbital #AI #Datacentre 'investment opportunity'...

Here's Ed Zitron with a couple thousand words on the insanity of current on the ground datacentre build out.
https://www.wheresyoured.at/the-ai-industry-is-lying-to-you/?ref=ed-zitrons-wheres-your-ed-at-newsletter

Go read it. I'll meet you in the next Toot

The AI Industry Is Lying To You

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Ed Zitron's Where's Your Ed At
Show threaddrs1969 (David Smith) 🇬🇧13h ago

Yeah... YEAH... Nvidia is selling GPUs that won't be getting power for 2-3yrs BEST case scenario.

So the 'solution' is to what? Put these not at all radiation hardened; air or liquid cooled GPUs into an architecture that relies on radiative heat transfer.... Nope. Not gonna happen.

So what IS going on here?

Ed is saying that the entire AI industry is built on the sketchiest of foundations.

Show threaddrs1969 (David Smith) 🇬🇧12h ago

I think this is a 'Sub Prime' computing scam.

Technology has been turned into asset classes and various derivatives.
NVIDIA - are they ACTUALLY selling and manufacturing and SHIPPING GPUs that won't be powered up for 24+ months? Really? REALLY?

Show threaddrs1969 (David Smith) 🇬🇧12h ago

Space Karen is saying he'll build out BEYOND state of the Art 2nm radiation hardened AI processors from scratch in less than 5 years. Chip Fabs are insane engineering. 2nm chip fabs are that cubed. He's proposing to build this next to the Gigapress facility - the big stampy metal bashing machines... Why? That's mad. The vibrations!

So is he serious? He can't be.

But recall the Hyperloop...

Show threaddrs1969 (David Smith) 🇬🇧12h ago

The Boring Company, and SKs 'genius' idea of cars on carts in tunnels... was done to nix a proposal for high speed trains in California.

So what's this really for?