The Calculating Engine’s Fickle Humors

by

A Day Trader's Lament

The year commenced with a disquiet amongst those who traffic in promises – the investors, naturally. They spoke of the Calculating Engines, these artificial intelligences, with a suspicion usually reserved for itinerant fortune tellers and government clerks. Valuations, they observed, had swelled to a most unnatural size, like a prize-winning melon left too long in the sun. And the great Hyperscalers – those behemoths who hoard computing power as a miser hoards kopecks – declared their intention to pour rivers of coin into these Engines. A most unsettling prospect, as if attempting to fill a bottomless well with gold leaf.

Then came the tremors in the Software Quarter. A most peculiar affliction seized the purveyors of programs and applications. It appeared the Calculating Engines, these very same Engines causing such anxiety, threatened to… replicate their wares. To mimic, to supplant, to render obsolete the carefully crafted lines of code that had once commanded such princely sums. A most unsettling thought, as if a clever clockmaker were to invent a machine that could build clocks without the need of a craftsman’s hand. Thus, a paradox emerged: the Engines seemed to be sputtering, starved of resources, yet simultaneously poised to dismantle the very foundations of the Software realm. A most curious state of affairs, indeed.

The issue, you see, is not merely one of coin, but of sustenance. These Engines, they require… everything. They feast upon data, mountains of it, and are cooled by torrents of water, as if attempting to quench the thirst of a desert dragon. The great data centers, those concrete cathedrals of computation, now consume power at a rate that threatens to dim the lights of entire cities. A report, compiled by learned men in a laboratory – a place of endless tinkering and dubious experiments – suggests that by 2028, over half of all electricity generated will be devoted to these Engines. Enough to power the lamps of twenty-two percent of American households, they claim. A most extravagant waste, one might observe, considering the number of candles still flickering in the provinces.

And the latest pronouncements from the creators of these Engines – those self-proclaimed masters of the digital universe – are… ambiguous. Their creations, they admit, are not quite as miraculous as advertised. The models, these digital simulacra of intelligence, are… imperfect. Investors, naturally, began to murmur amongst themselves, questioning the wisdom of such lavish expenditure. A sell-off ensued, as frantic hands dumped shares like unwanted potatoes.

AI and Software Valuations

But the Software Quarter, as previously noted, suffers from its own peculiar malady. A new creation, birthed from the labs of Anthropic – a most peculiar name, suggesting a fondness for insects – has emerged. It is called Claude Cowork, and it possesses the unsettling ability to connect to one’s files, to peruse one’s documents, and to… complete tasks without the need for human intervention. A most alarming development, as if a mechanical scribe were to usurp the duties of a calligrapher. The market, naturally, fears that such tools will render entire categories of software obsolete. A most unsettling prospect, as if a swarm of locusts were descending upon the fields of innovation.

However, as Bank of America‘s Vivek Arya – a man who presumably spends his days counting coins and analyzing charts – has observed, this cannot occur instantaneously. The Engines, despite their prodigious appetites and unsettling abilities, require time to mature. To harness their intelligence, to transform it into something… useful, will require years, perhaps decades. A most frustrating delay, one might observe, for those eager to reap the rewards of innovation.

Is this a Doomsday for Software, or Merely a Resetting of Accounts?

Investors, it appears, have adopted a strategy of selling first and inquiring later. A most illogical approach, one might observe, but then again, logic rarely prevails in the halls of finance. There will undoubtedly be winners and losers in this unfolding drama. Some Software companies will succumb to the onslaught of the Engines, while others will adapt and thrive. There are already whispers of partnerships, of alliances forged between the old guard and the new. A most pragmatic approach, one might observe, but hardly inspiring.

Perhaps, then, this selling is overdone. Perhaps the market has succumbed to a fit of panic. More likely, however, this is a re-evaluation of the entire sector. The Engines will enable the creation of software solutions at an unprecedented pace, eroding the moats that once protected the established players. The days of exorbitant valuations – of unprofitable companies trading at thirty times revenue – may be numbered. A most welcome development, one might observe, for those who prefer a bit of common sense in their investments.

One suspects that, over time, the line between the Engines and the software they create will become blurred, indistinguishable. They will converge, merge, become one and the same. But as recent weeks have demonstrated, transitions are rarely smooth or pleasant. There will be turbulence, disruption, and a great deal of hand-wringing. A most predictable outcome, one might observe, considering the inherent chaos of the human condition.

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2026-02-10 23:22