Compute investment scaling
Epoch AI's scatter plot drew 31.9K views on X: 0.5x its typical post and #72 of 97 Epoch AI charts we track by views. Read Oct 10, 2026.
AI progress has been driven by enormous compute scaling, but this is likely to slow down within the next few years. The reasons: investor uncertainty, the heavy costs of overinvestment, and increasing lead times. 🧵
Why it spread
The post spread because it hit a hot topic that week and drew many quotes, with 184 likes against the account's typical 114, plus 27 reposts, 10 quotes, 58 saves and 31,949 views.
What worked
- It pairs a clear argument about slowing compute scaling with a scatter chart showing that increasing lead times may decelerate compute investment.
- It is branded, carries a source line, and comes from an account whose source reach sits in the top quarter.
- Its quote rate also sits in the top quarter, and the post uses a thread format to unpack the reasons.
What to borrow
We could take a timely industry argument and back it with one simple scatter chart, keeping the branding and source line so the claim stays traceable.
Careful
Do not over-read the spread as proof of the argument itself, since the numbers describe attention, not the correctness of the compute slowdown claim.
Written by our analysis model from the measured numbers above, not by Epoch AI.
Make it yours
Your numbers, the bar chart way.
Starts from the real numbers of "Increasing lead times may lead to a substantial deceleration in compute investment scaling" by Epoch AI. Replace every number with yours before you post. Make one like this, step by step
Free pictures carry a small "Made with ViralChart" line. That line is how other people find us.
API · Max
Use this chart via API
On the Max plan you can pull this chart's numbers with the provenance of each one, as JSON or CSV, with its redraw spec, or call it from an agent over MCP. Chart id 0661c3a88492.
Approximate values. Our two readings of this chart agreed only in part (confidence 0.42 of 1), so check the original before you quote a number. The API marks it lowConfidence, and ?min_confidence=0.5 leaves it out.
| Path | Returns | Plan | |
|---|---|---|---|
| GET | /api/v1/charts/0661c3a88492 | Title, publisher, date, form, point count; with a Max key, the data link | Open |
| GET | /api/v1/charts/0661c3a88492/data | Every point with its provenance and confidence, plus the redraw spec. Add ?format=csv for CSV | Max |
| GET | /api/v1/charts/0661c3a88492/render?view=1 | The draw-only view this page uses | Open |
| POST | /mcp | Tool get_chart_data with this id, for Claude, Cursor and other agents | Max |
curl -s https://viral-chart.com/api/v1/charts/0661c3a88492/data \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $VIRALCHART_KEY"claude mcp add --transport http viralchart https://viral-chart.com/mcp \
--header "Authorization: Bearer $VIRALCHART_KEY"60 requests a minute per key; over that you get 429 with Retry-After. Up to 5 keys per account, made on your account page and shown once. Without Max, the data route answers 402 with a link to the plans. The numbers describe a chart its publisher owns, and every file carries a license note.
More from Epoch AI
All 97
Other giants using a scatter plot
All 78
Questions people ask
How far did Epoch AI's "Compute investment scaling" chart travel?
31,949 views, 184 likes, 27 reposts and 58 saves on X, read Oct 10, 2026. A normal post from @EpochAIResearch gets about 68.2K views.
What kind of chart is it?
A scatter plot. Increasing lead times may decelerate compute investment.
Can I use Epoch AI's chart?
Use the format, not the picture. The chart, logo and design belong to Epoch AI. ViralChart redraws the chart type with your numbers and words, and credits the original publisher.