[Career review] “Expert in AI hardware” by Erich Grunewald

In 1965, Gordon Moore observed that the number of transistors you can fit onto a chip seemed to double every year. He boldly predicted, “Integrated circuits will lead to such wonders as home computers[,] automatic controls for automobiles, and personal portable communications equipment.”The full paragraph reads: "The future of integrated electronics is the future of electronics itself. The advantages of integration will bring about a proliferation of electronics, pushing this science into many new areas. Integrated circuits will lead to such wonders as home computers – or at least terminals connected to a central computer – automatic controls for automobiles, and personal portable communications equipment. The electronic wristwatch needs only a display to be feasible today." Gordon Moore would go on to co-found Intel in 1968.

Moore later revised his estimate to every two years, but the doubling trend held, eventually becoming known as Moore's Law.

This technological progress in computer hardware led to consistent doublings of performance, memory capacity, and energy efficiency. This was achieved only through astonishing increases in the complexity of design and production. While Moore was looking at chips with fewer than a hundred transistors, modern chips have transistor counts in [...]

Narrated by AI.

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Outline:

(03:39) Pros

(03:53) Cons

(04:13) Key takeaways on fit

(04:47) Recommended

(04:57) Review status

(05:02) Why might becoming an expert in AI hardware be high impact?

(11:03) Want one-on-one advice on pursuing this path?

(11:23) What does working in high-impact AI hardware expert roles actually look like?

(14:05) How to enter AI hardware expert careers

(17:03) Learn more

(17:06) Top recommendations

(17:34) Further recommendations

(17:39) General

(18:15) Forecasting AI progress

(18:37) Compute governance

The original text contained 13 footnotes which were omitted from this narration.

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First published:
September 11th, 2023

Source:
https://80000hours.org/career-reviews/become-an-expert-in-ai-hardware

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

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