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Comment by btown | Hacker News Reader

OpenAI is just a wrapper around NVIDIA, which is just a wrapper around TSMC, which is just a wrapper around ASML, which is just a wrapper around Zeiss optics, which is just a wrapper around EUV photons, which are just wrappers around quarks, which are just wrappers around quantum fields...

A Large Language Model is just a Large Hadron Model with better marketing.

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I would argue that a "wrapper" denotes a product that could be replicated with little effort, not that one relies on the other. None of your examples fit this definition.

I believe the controversy arises from the notion of “little effort” and critics who have never independently pushed anything to market. It comes across as dismissive and arrogant simply because someone exudes excessive confidence in a limited set of skills. I can personally attest to the immense demands of building a successful business, and it’s evident that very few individuals possess the capability to achieve that. Therefore, while it may provide comfort to avoid challenging oneself and dismiss others’ total work, it ultimately doesn’t benefit anyone and feels more like a self-serving “I could, but I never will” attitude.

The potential customer rarely cares whether a service provider is running their business well. What matters is the product's value added and risks added, as compared to just using the underlying tech directly.

The processor is built of transistors, built of silicone. The paper that wraps the box that wraps the processor is simply a mindless container. Yes, there’s nuance when it comes to “wrapper” companies but it in the end they may just be wrappers. Back in the “web 2.0” things were called mash-ups and everybody didn’t try to make them look like companies.

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