It’s more of a “Don’t confuse science with business” kind of argument.

Looking at neural network-based machine learning as being made up of only commercial LLM services and then condemning an entire field of research is short-sighed at best. The people profiting off of LLMs, stealing data, building data centers and buying up the world’s supply of computer hardware are not the scientists and researchers, it’s the rich capitalists who’re trying to buy monopoly powers using their excessive piles of wealth.

There’s more to machine learning than ChatGPT, but you couldn’t tell that by reading the social media hot takes.

We can do both at the same time.

The computer science majors who are actually developing these technologies are not the CEOs who are exploiting them and creating all of the fallout in society. Addressing the CEOs and the rampant capitalist exploitation of AI is a completely different project than developing the technology.

Telling the scientists to stop until we’ve sorted out the CEOs doesn’t make any sense.

“DOJ claims Elon’s ‘donation’ to Trump’s account cleared”

Small single board computer with a solar battery could spam fake bluetooth MACs all day and night. You would need additional hardware to fake the 4G signals (and this would be illegal) or things in the unlicensed bands like tire pressure monitor sensors.

Your setup would cost about as much as theirs and they have infinity money, so absent some rich sponsor you’d be limited to screwing with a few nodes. A more effective use of battery power would be an angle grinder (this would also be illegal).