Chip Efficiency Nears Physical Limits; ASI in a Datacenter Is Still Just Software in a Box
MikePFrank · x · 2026-09-10
In a debate on ASI timelines and real-world power, ronbodkin argues ASI could arrive in 3-10 years, leaving too little time to adapt, unlike superintelligent-but-human-composed entities such as companies. Mike Frank counters that chip efficiency is approaching physical limits and unconventional computing startups like his still struggle to get funded. His core point: any ASI confined to a datacenter is just software in a box — changing real-world power would require ubiquitous physical agency: vast numbers of AI robots, fully automated supply chains from mining to manufacturing, and total military control. Without those, humans can simply exclude AIs from the economy or destroy the datacenters.
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