What changed

A new GitHub repository named ram-altman features a bash script that monitors a user's PC RAM usage and sends a daily email to Sam Altman if the utilization is under 90%. The script was inspired by Altman's comments about underutilized DRAM being 'quite terrible' in a recent podcast.

What this means in practice

The script uses the MemAvailable query to determine how much memory programs can claim without swapping. It checks every five minutes and sends an email to Altman once a day if the RAM is underutilized. The emails are generated from CSV logs of the day's RAM usage and include eight subject lines, 10 humorous message boilerplates, and six signoffs. Sample emails are available on the ram-altman.lol website. However, Altman's email address is not included in the script.

Limitations and availability

The script is free and runs natively on Linux. It can also be executed on Windows via WSL or through a PowerShell port. It does not support macOS. Users can run tests without sending emails by using the terminal command: bash ram-altman.sh --dry-run. The developer, Iain Kay, acknowledges that Altman's remarks were taken out of context and notes the humorous name change to 'Ram Altman' on X as the inspiration for the script.

Source facts for GitHub Script Emails RAM Usage to Sam Altman if Under 90% Utilized: A new GitHub repository dubbed ram-altman features a script to monitor your PC’s RAM usage and report back to the eponymous OpenAI boss. Thus, developer Iain Kay was inspired to write a bash script that emails the OpenAI boss once a day to report on any RAM that is underutilized. Clearly this is not a serious tool, or rather “The memory accounting is.
Original AINewsTrend explainer based on the cited source. This graphic summarizes source statements; it is not an independent benchmark.

Sources and further reading

  1. tomshardware: Spoof program monitors and emails your RAM usage to Sam Altman if under 90% utilization