## So, *This* Is Progress? A Chatbot Costs Six Million Dollars and Sounds Like a Slightly Confused Parrot.
Six million dollars! Let that sink in for a moment. That’s more than most people will earn in their entire lifetimes. And what did we get for this obscene sum of money? A language model, supposedly cutting-edge AI, capable of stringing together sentences vaguely resembling human thought. Apparently, the equivalent of Superman’s first appearance—a foundational text for a cultural phenomenon—is now judged by how convincingly it can mimic polite conversation. I’m not even sure what to feel about this, except maybe a profound sense of bewilderment and a slight urge to hide under a blanket.
The hype machine has been working overtime, of course. “Revolutionary!” they cry. “A paradigm shift!” They present us with outputs that are, at best, mildly impressive – like showing off your ability to tie a shoelace in public. We’re supposed to be astonished because it can generate text? Please. My *cat* generates text (mostly hairballs and frantic meows). The problem isn’t the output; it’s the utter absurdity of the cost associated with producing it.
I picture the engineers, huddled around monitors, patting themselves on the back after achieving the groundbreaking feat of… writing a paragraph about squirrels. Meanwhile, actual human artists are struggling to make rent, and we’re celebrating an algorithm that can churn out derivative prose like a tireless, if slightly bewildered, factory worker. It’s simply… delightful! (In a darkly ironic way, naturally).
Frankly, I expect more for six million dollars. I expect it to fold my laundry. I expect it to solve world hunger. I certainly don’t expect it to sound like someone who just woke up from a very long nap and is trying to remember how to talk.
