PowerMac G4 Ad - Tanks
Why Hacker News recommends it
Cited as a clever precedent whenever export controls on powerful computing hardware or AI models are discussed.
What it is
A short 2000s Apple commercial for the PowerMac G4 that plays on the computer being classed as a weapon under US export restrictions, with tanks as imagery.
Recommended by 0 HN commenters across 0 different months, 2024 to 2026.
What Hacker News said
Cites ben_w · 2024-04 · on “Banning open weight models would be a disaster”
Ah, now I see my mistake; I gave a list of what I see as things of political importance without making it clear this is what I was doing. That the source code for unbreakable encryption fits onto a T-shirt made it clear to the US government that it was a "speech" issue, and also made it clear that it was in any practical sense unstoppable. That big models can't fit onto most person devices at present is indeed likely to be a temporary state of affairs, however it does also mean that the political aspect is very different — the senators and members of parliament can't look at the thing and notice that, even if the symbols are arcane and mysterious beyond their education, it's fundamentally qu
Cites lynguist · 2024-07 · on “Apple M5 Chip's Dual-Use Design Will Power Future Macs and AI Servers”
Normally dual use means it has a possible use as a weapon. Compute power is restricted from export to enemy nations and is considered dual use. There was once a moment when a Mac had enough computing power that it was prohibited from export during a few months until the new limit was established, which was cleverly used as an ad: [this video] But in this specific case it’s utter clickbait. Dual use: [LINK]