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[Iranian strikes test the Gulf's trillion-dollar AI dream]

#71

Off the Record / Re: Iran War?

Last post by Jacob - March 03, 2026, 12:45:03 PM

Iranian strikes test the Gulf's trillion-dollar AI dream
The region sold itself as a safe harbor for the world's data. Amazon's burning data center in the UAE has upended that pitch.

For years, Gulf leaders made a simple promise to Silicon Valley: Bring your data, your models, and your chips, and we will give you stability.

On Sunday, that promise ended in flames, after Iran's retaliatory strikes in response to U.S.-Israeli assault set an Amazon data center in the United Arab Emirates on fire.

In a statement released following the incident, Amazon said "objects" struck the building, creating sparks and flames, declining to link the incident to Iran's missile and drone attacks. Fire crews cut power to the entire site, and more than 24 hours later the facility remains offline, with the disruption spreading to other parts of Amazon's UAE operation.

Full article here: https://restofworld.org/2026/amazon-uae-data-center-fire-iran-strike/

I'll crosspost it to the AI thread too.

#72

Gaming HQ / Re: The Miscellaneous PC & vid...

Last post by The Minsky Moment - March 03, 2026, 12:33:56 PM

Hate that we stopped building the future

Just for you, on sale now for less than 10 roubles!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/784150/Workers__Resources_Soviet_Republic/

#73

Off the Record / Re: Iran War?

Last post by The Minsky Moment - March 03, 2026, 12:30:47 PM

We keep killing their leaders... Do they not have enough brains to go some undisclosed location while the war goes on?  Maybe they should find a bunker, or a Motel 6.

Hard to say given conflicting and unverified reports.  Israeli media reported Arafi killed yesterday, but that still seems unconfirmed.  Same with the Assembly of Experts attack.  Were they in the building?  I saw one report before the attack saying there were no plans to convene a meeting until hostilities were reduced.  Then again, a number of top leaders including Khameinei were caught in vulnerable positions despite clear advance warning. Israeli media is reporting the Mujtahids were in the building, along with the acting Defense Minister (?) - that may reflect their access of solid intel from IDF or passing on propaganda. Fog of war.

#74

Off the Record / Re: Iran War?

Last post by Crazy_Ivan80 - March 03, 2026, 12:21:59 PM

You can find the location of the Assembly of Experts building on google.  I'm confident even our intelligence is good enough for that.

Probably not a great sign that we keep attacking useless targets.

We keep killing their leaders... Do they not have enough brains to go some undisclosed location while the war goes on?  Maybe they should find a bunker, or a Motel 6.

Maybe use zoom, or an email.

Change the meeting culture!

#75

Off the Record / Re: Iran War?

Last post by Jacob - March 03, 2026, 12:21:16 PM

How can they claim credit if they didn't have that objective in the first place?  It's like giving credit to Mr. Magoo or Inspector Clouseau.

Mainly because if it turns into a complete shitshow, then they own those consequences too. So to be fair, if somehow they luck into a good set of outcomes, I'll have to give them some of the credit for that.

I tend to believe it will turn into a complete shitshow, but I want to correct a bit for my own bias when assessing the situation.

#76

Off the Record / Re: Iran War?

Last post by Razgovory - March 03, 2026, 11:57:06 AM

You can find the location of the Assembly of Experts building on google.  I'm confident even our intelligence is good enough for that.

Probably not a great sign that we keep attacking useless targets.

We keep killing their leaders... Do they not have enough brains to go some undisclosed location while the war goes on?  Maybe they should find a bunker, or a Motel 6.

#77

Off the Record / Re: Iran War?

Last post by Grey Fox - March 03, 2026, 11:00:57 AM

Ukraine should ask the to lobby the US on their behalf. They hold the at large Trump family by the balls.

#78

Off the Record / Re: The AI dooooooom thread

Last post by crazy canuck - March 03, 2026, 10:43:18 AM

There is a third option, AI tools produce work that is mediocre and humans put too much trust in it's capabilities and are not putting enough effort into verifying what the AI tools are doing.

Also ends in disaster

#79

Off the Record / Re: The AI dooooooom thread

Last post by The Minsky Moment - March 03, 2026, 10:40:41 AM

The two possible states of AI:
1) AI is too stupid to be really useful (where we are now).
2) AI is clever enough to be useful but then humans are too stupid to safely control it (where we are going to)

Either way we are out a few trillion.

#80

Off the Record / Re: Iran War?

Last post by crazy canuck - March 03, 2026, 10:39:32 AM

From the NYTimes

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said he offered to help the United Arab Emirates to contend with Iranian strikes and "support the protection of lives." Ukraine has years of experience combatting Iranian-designed drones, launched by Russia. Zelensky said Tuesday in a social media post that he spoke with the Emirati president, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, and they "agreed that our teams will work on this."