GPU futures and the locus of inference - by Dave Friedman

I’ve previously written about the idea of GPU futures, and this seems to elicit a lot of confusion or ire from readers. I get a bunch of DMs, emails and unsubscriptions every time I write about it. This is an AI newsletter! I hear you say. What’s dirty finance doing in my newsletters? Well, this post is an FAQ to help my subscribers understand why GPU futures might be important for the future of AI. A futures contract is a promise to buy or sell something at a fixed price on a fixed date in the future. Farmers use them to lock in grain prices. Airlines use them to manage jet fuel costs. Traders use them to speculate. But not every good or service can be turned into futures. You need: A standardized unit (barrel of oil, bushel of corn), lots of buyers and sellers with ongoing exposure, a way to measure spot prices, and a trusted mechanism to settle disputes. When these conditions exist, futures markets thrive. GPUs are the scarce resource behind AI. They’re expensive, oversubscribed, an

I’ve previously written about the idea of GPU futures, and this seems to elicit a lot of confusion or ire from readers. I get a bunch of DMs, emails and unsubscriptions every time I write about it. This is an AI newsletter! I hear you say. What’s dirty finance doing in my newsletters? Well, this post is an FAQ to help my subscribers understand why GPU futures might be important for the future of AI. A futures contract is a promise to buy or sell something at a fixed price on a fixed date in the future. Farmers use them to lock in grain prices. Airlines use them to manage jet fuel costs. Trader