You can download the entire Wikipedia and use it locally.

Wikipedia and whole of archive.org probably fit on 1 rack full of drives. 99,999% of what’s on datacenters are literal garbage photos, videos and what not that people don’t delete, and their copies in many other locations for high availability.

Yeah, I know the perversion of words is a regular thing (for various malicious or random reasons), but the the current use of "AI" and "data certes" really keeps fucking me mid communication (evey time I hear "AI" I think "oh, non-AI-AI").

The last time this happened as much (iirc) was the word "literally" (as in 'it literally keeps fucking me mid communication').

So yes, data centres (libraries) are important, including managing risks of such centres (eg de/centralisation, concentration, etc).
I would say intelligence is important too but ... I lack the evidence.

Thats a bit sad.

Where in India? I've never seen this in the South.

No that's kinda dumb. Libraries do so much more for communities than house physical books, and at the same time those important historical paper records and books need to be stored somewhere public and accessible. Digital records can be altered. Digital books can be altered. Physical is crucial.

Why not have both?

Anyone can read a physical book. Digital books are gatekept behind devices.

Edit: I honestly can’t believe the replies I’m getting. Who knew people oppose physical books that have existed for hundreds of years? This is depressing.

Good thing many libraries nowadays have both. Also libraries offer much more than just books. My local library offers cool classes/programs for kids in the summer.

Digital libraries are still libraries

“Get her!” 👻

I'd be down with publicly funded digital libraries.

Libraries are a lot more than books though.

It's sounds like just a search engine.

The present problems with AI/LLM are already apparent.

Imagine a library where the librarian assembles the book for you based on your reading history, the whims of the rich person that paid for the library chain, and corporation that wants you to stay engaged with their chain of libraries. The book is handed to you and it’s written to not offend you or be objectively critical of the subject you’re interested in (because if you are asked to be critical of your views you might be butthurt and not come back), and to align with your existing views. Interleaved in the pages are ads for you, too. Just like print magazines. The sources for the info could be compiled from anywhere, but who needs those anyway? Nobody looks at them. The Librarian is only as good as its programming, so every once in a while it’s just gonna make shit up and it definitely won’t criticize the methodology of its developers.

Every time someone asks for that same book it’s different, because it’s re-written for each individual based on their data-mined profile, their required adult identity proof to use the service, and their subscription information.

Or you could go to a public library, for free, grab two or three books on the same subject and compare different views thoroughly and see where the authors got their information from.

We'd still need librarians to do the work at the physical libraries, and they're always going to be the better people to ask. They're not just people who like books; there is a lot of studying and training to be a librarian - I know 2, and they're both among the smartest people I know, and definitely the most well-read. I'd go to them for a book-related question before I do anything else.

It's not as convenient as just typing something up online, but that's kinda the point. Unchecked pursual of convenience is what got us here - do the tried and true thing that takes a bit more effort, and you'll be surprised at how much better it works than the convenient option.

AI is theft. It is designed to dumb you down and make you passive or reactionary. AI is slop and I have yet to find a real purpose for AI. People think they lost their job to AI but the top 10% is the only ones spending any money. We are not on the spread sheet. Our economies are shrinking the wealth is being concentrated to the capitalist class and now we live in a age of brazen imperialism. AI doesn't provide any meaningful value to the working class. It is a magic trick. Karl Marx was right. Chapter Thirty-Two: Historical Tendency of Capitalist Accumulation

Right?!

I saw someone post recently that if libraries were invented today they’d never be allowed to exist and I fear that’s correct.