James Mickens' Talk: A Sober Analysis of AI Impact (LABScon '26)

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6 pointscorroclaro4 comments

As always, Prof. Mickens' presents a very fun and very insightful, animated rant on computing today. The full title being "Happiness Nullification, Intergalactic Carnage and the Release of Multiple Frost Giants: A Sober Analysis of AI Impact" which isn't that hyperbolic after having listened.

The bombastic title makes me think of another fun one, "Temporally Quaquaversal Virtual Nanomachine Programming In Multiple Topologically Connected Quantum-Relativistic Parallel Spacetimes--Made Easy!"

Wow, Perl users!

He nailed it. At 3:20:

> Here's another claim. Okay, we have too many CPUs and GPUs. We have so much computing power that some people want to create fake currencies by having our computers solve mathematical puzzles all day. Do you understand why that's so insane?

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