“RAM ALTMAN” is an open-source Bash script for Linux that turns a debate about AI’s demand for computing resources into a joke. Developer Iain Kay’s tool checks how much memory is unused on a computer and, when more than 10% is free, can generate a sarcastic email addressed to OpenAI chief Sam Altman. Messages frame idle memory on a personal computer as RAM that could be put to work in a data centre. The script does not email anyone by default: users must configure an email server themselves, a safeguard intended to prevent automated spoofing or abuse of OpenAI’s servers.
The project also offers a dry-run option and a local test suite so Linux users and system administrators can simulate memory use and inspect the message without sending it. Its FAQ extends the satire, explaining that it will not ease the DRAM shortage, does not work on macOS because it reads Linux’s `/proc/meminfo`, and uses a 10% threshold because machines with less free memory have “suffered enough.” The joke responds to Altman’s remarks that OpenAI’s RAM needs matter more than consumer electronics. After online criticism, Altman said his words had been taken out of context and that he wants everyone to have as much RAM as they want.
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