Comment by throw10920
14 hours ago
> the idea that all companies will need to buy tokens from a handfull of tech companies to run their businesses or make their products
Did you somehow become incapable of doing things without models? Most of us have not.
This is exactly what I'm seeing all over the place. I'd like to say it's not true for me, but I'd probably be lying a little bit to say so. It is causing some atrophy in my skillset. One could argue that I'm gaining something different through LLM usage like "getting good at asking the model questions" or something, but it doesn't frankly feel like a skill which is all that useful on a going forward basis.
Imagine if only KB Home and D.R. Horton had access to power tools while all the other homebuilders big and small had to use hand saws and screwdrivers. Would they be incapable of building houses without power tools? No. Will they be relatively screwed as companies? Yes.
You're changing the goalposts.
The above comment said:
> need to buy tokens from a handfull of tech companies to run their businesses or make their products
That's clearly indicating necessity.
That would indeed be concerning if it was the case, but it's not.
So now the case is just "you can pay more money to do things faster".
And guess what? That's been the case for centuries if not millennia. Nothing special or concerning at all.
And so your analogy is misleading. You're trying to imply that only a tiny number (2-3?) of companies make the tools, and nobody else does. You either pay those companies, or you don't get them.
That's just false. There are hundreds of companies that will sell you tokens - just not for frontier models. The correct analogy is how Samsung, Google, and Apple make the best phones in the world, so you can buy from one of them - or you can buy a still-good but not bleeding-edge phone from another vendor. And everyone is fine with that.