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Iran War Chokes Off Helium Supply Critical for AI (www.wsj.com)
submitted 7 months ago by to c/technology@lemmy.world
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[–] 37 points 7 months ago (23 children)

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  • [–] 102 points 7 months ago (17 children)

    Unfortunately it's also critical for MRIs.

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  • [–] 61 points 7 months ago (4 children)

    Yeah, what a crazy headline that AI was the thing mentioned and not 1 of the many other real life uses that offer greater solutions to us.

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  • [–] 15 points 7 months ago (4 children)

    Maybe we'll get lucky, and by the time the helium supply is restored, we've done away with the shitty not-really-AI craze, saving more helium for things of use to humanity.

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  • [–] 7 points 7 months ago (3 children)

    Maybe this is why they're now ramping up going back to the moon? Gonna start fuckin the moon up for all that sweet Helium 3.

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  • [–] 7 points 7 months ago

    We could be at war with Iran for a century, sending strike teams in to siphon helium out of the ground and smuggle it back to the US in stealth jets and submarines, and it would still be significantly cheaper than trying to mine the moon.

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  • [–] 14 points 7 months ago (4 children)

    Okay, but do you really think we're going to prioritize the enormous loss-leading CSAM engines over lifesaving medical diagnostics machines?

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  • [–] 4 points 7 months ago (2 children)

    I trust our leaders to make the right decisions. Just a small bump in the road or two lately, that's all.

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  • [–] 3 points 7 months ago (1 child)

    My understanding is that MRIs don't consume helium, in the same way air conditioning units don't consume refrigerant, so helium is only needed for making new MRI machines.

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  • [–] 8 points 7 months ago*

    New ones, and not all if them, work this way, as in there's tiny helium condensing unit. Older ones just let it go and require topping up every couple months (guessing by how often helium in NMR is topped up). Also every emergency shutdown invariably blows off all of helium inside

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  • [–] 13 points 7 months ago (4 children)

    It's not like its really used on AI inference, but it's used in high grade semiconductor manufacturing. so helium shortage will hit anything with a modern semiconductors in it. So it's not "whatever".

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  • [–] 1 point 7 months ago (2 children)

    Have you missed what all the fucking semiconductors are being bought up for the past year or so?

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  • [–] 1 point 7 months ago

    Yeah and they will keep begin bought by AI companies, even if the production sags. If the prices were unaffordable now they will be even more so if there is a real production choke. They can keep tossing few extra billions to keep the bubble going, you and I cannot compete with that.

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