Sam Altman’s $7 trillion AI plan: But then, how else can we save the world?

In a world where billionaires launch into space for fun, Sam Altman of OpenAI fame has upped the game of one-upmanship by throwing a number into the universe that has made economists and mathematicians do a collective face-palm: $7 trillion. 

That is not a typo. It is seven trillion US dollars, a number so large that it’s practically a black hole in the world of finance that makes most tech-startup pitches look like lemonade-stand business plans.

Sam Altman has said he needs $7 trillion. Why? According to reports, he is on a mission to build a global network of AI chip factories, data centres and power plants. 

Apparently, training the next generation of AI models requires more computing power because they may need to solve a Rubik’s cube while juggling flaming torches, riding a unicycle and translating Tolstoy’s War and Peace into Klingon. 

These models will attempt to understand the nuances of human language in all its glory, including why we say “parkway” when we drive on it and “driveway” when we park on it. Hence, all the costs.

Also read: OpenAI's Sam Altman looking to raise billions of dollars for new AI chip venture. Here's what we know so far

Is it needed? Some experts argue that this level of investment is key to keeping up with the exponential growth of AI capabilities. Others suggest Altman accidentally added a few extra zeros to his funding estimate.

So, how much is $7 trillion? It’s enough to do plenty else. I could suggest a few ideas.

The money could fund America’s space agency Nasa for more than 250 years at its current budget.

Cost: $7 trillion.

Outcome: We’d probably find aliens before Altman’s AI becomes self-aware.

Or we could build around 4,600 Burj Khalifa skyscrapers like the one in Dubai.

Cost: $1.5 billion per skyscraper.

Outcome: The world’s most expensive game of Jenga.

And my personal favourite: Buy everyone on Earth a lifetime supply of avocados.

Cost: $1,000 per person.

Outcome: World peace through shared guacamole.

Lest I give the wrong impression of my budgetary priorities, let’s sprinkle some published data to add a dash of reality to our humour soufflé.

Before we hand over the equivalent of the combined GDP of India and the whole of Africa, let’s explore what other world-changing feats we could accomplish with that kind of cash. Apple has a market cap of about $3.33 trillion (as of the date I wrote this). Altman could buy two Apples and still have money left over for a few Android phones.

Let us take another number. The global artificial intelligence (AI) market will be $1.3-$1.8 billion by 2030, depending on the source (Statista: $1.8 trillion by 2030; Faistgroup: $1.81 trillion by 2030; and MarketsandMarkets: $1.4 trillion by 2030). Altman’s request is about 3.8 times this entire projected market.

Also read: Sam Altman addresses ‘nervousness’ around Artificial Intelligence: ‘It's on us to…'

Now, I do not want to be a ‘frivolous Sam’ (my call name used to be Sam when I was at IBM—no idea why). So, I took it upon myself to figure out some ‘more worthy causes’ that might deserve this money.

Global hunger and malnutrition: $2.65 trillion (for 10 years at $265 billion annually). This figure comes from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s estimate of funds needed to end hunger by 2030. I have allocated funding for ten years, as this would create a sustainable impact.

Climate-change mitigation: $2.4 trillion based on the IPCC’s estimate of annual investments needed in the energy sector until 2035 to limit global warming to 1.5° Celsius. I have allocated one year’s worth of this estimate, though the challenge requires ongoing investment.

Universal access to clean water and sanitation: $570 billion (five years at $114 billion per year). The World Bank estimates that $114 billion annually is needed to achieve universal access to safely managed water and sanitation services by 2030. I provided five years of funding to make significant progress.

Universal healthcare: $1.11 trillion (three years at $370 billion per year) based on a rough global estimate of $371 billion annually for basic universal health coverage. Three years of funding could help establish systems in many countries.

Clean energy transition: $270 billion. The balance amount. IRENA suggests a complete energy transition will require $131 trillion by 2050. So this amount, while significant, is only a fraction of what’s needed.

Is this adequate? In most cases, far greater allocations are needed to solve these issues. However, experts believe these estimates would help us make significant progress, or, in some cases, achieve specific goals (like ending hunger by 2030).

While a $7 trillion AI chip manufacturing ecosystem sounds impressive and may even be an urgent need for Planet Earth, it’s worth considering whether we might get more bang for our buck elsewhere.

Also read: Elon Musk moves court against OpenAI again; Sam Altman and Greg Brockman sued: previous case ‘lacked teeth’, says lawyer

But who knows? Maybe this super-AI will solve all these problems for us. Remember that we once thought 640KB of RAM was more than anyone would ever need. Perhaps in the future, we’ll look back at Altman’s request and chuckle, “Only $7 trillion? How quaint!”—right before our AI overlords ask us to solve another CAPTCHA to prove we’re human.