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Meta putting up tents across the US to house AI servers, like ‘a scene out of the movie Mad Max’ — structures take three months to build and use jet engines for power (www.tomshardware.com)
submitted 5 months ago by to c/technology@lemmy.ml
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Putting AI servers inside tents, officially called “rapid deployment structures,” is one of the more unique approaches to the AI build-out, Thomas said. They’re certainly not as sturdy as physical buildings made from steel and concrete, with one commenter comparing it to the “classic $10k racing bike with a $9 lock” situation.

Can't see this situation going wonky anytime in the future...

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[–] 13 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (5 children)

I wonder why exactly do they want to increase AI compute that fast.

I would understand if their current infrastructure weren't able to handle traffic of core services like Facebook. Then it would be justified because it would mean worse user experience and less profits in effect.

But AI? Have I missed something? As far as I know everything Meta have shown so far were just toys. So why are they in hurry?

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  • [–] [S] 6 points 5 months ago (1 child)

    Really, my only guess is a cold war style arms race with other AI companies. I can't tell if they are getting any value from the extra compute or if it is just PR to say "look at all we have."

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  • [–] 4 points 5 months ago

    Tech company stock prices are buoyed by future growth prospects. If your competitors are all building shittons of compute capacity and you are not, that’s like signaling that you don’t plan to grow (at least in the current insane climate)

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    • [–] 8 points 5 months ago (2 children)

    jet engines? what the fuck

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  • [–] 5 points 5 months ago (1 child)

    It's a dramatic way of saying gas turbine.

    It's like saying a building has backup Truck Engine for power.

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  • [–] 8 points 5 months ago

    "Jet engine" is absolutely relevant because it gives a clue about the 24/7 banshee wail you'll be hearing. Most non engineers don't associate "turbine" with hearing loss.

    "Backup motorcycle engine" is actually a pretty good description for a random honda backyard generator.

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    • [–] 3 points 5 months ago (4 children)

    Huh, so a water balloon launcher with some sharp rocks can probably make sure they understand this was a bad idea

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    • [–] 1 point 5 months ago

    https://web.archive.org/web/20260605113201/https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/artificial-intelligence/meta-putting-up-tents-across-the-us-to-house-ai-servers-like-a-scene-out-of-the-movie-mad-max-structures-take-three-months-to-build-and-use-jet-engines-for-power

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