Quote from: Tycoon01 on Today at 07:01:36 PM

If you're into AI or machine learning, you know how crazy expensive it can get when you need serious computing power. I came across a project called IO.NET and would like to know your thoughts on their approach to tackling this issue.

They're creating a decentralized marketplace for unused processing power from things like data centers, miners, and even personal computers. Basically, they're building a giant network of unused power that people can rent for their AI projects, potentially at a lower cost.

Traditionally, cloud services like Amazon Web Services or Google Cloud Platform have been used, but decentralized approaches like IO.NET offer potentially lower costs and more user control.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on this approach, if it could be a game-changer for cost-effective AI development?

In theory it sounds interesting. In reality I see some problems.

First of all, I see a rights problem. Anybody smart enough will not allow others' program just run on their computer pretty much unattended and doing who-knows-what. Unless the program is open source, of course, but in my quick look on that site I've seen only nice graphics and big words. There may also be specialized miners taking this offer, but then it has to be better than actual GPU mining costs. And this means bye-bye to actually being cheap computing power.

Then, unless it's actual miners, people may not like their computer being used at random moments when there is need for that computing power (or is it needed 24/7??) and this may not go great if the average Joe just stops the app randomly because he needs the computer for something else (e.g. gaming). Or it will need quite a big amount of redundant use of processing power (making it less cost efficient).

So I see that website as something that would like to be a marketplace for selling/buying processing power, with nice words in there, but not much else. I expect that their "agent" will not be open source, and then it may not be so easy to find people willing to rent their GPUs for cheap.