Winning fight against AI data centers gives people a "taste of political power."

For officials hoping to quickly build data centers to propel America’s AI ambitions, facing the mounting opposition as the playbook has come together has been tough, NBC News reported. Where before, officials were criticized for quietly signing deals without discussing construction with nearby residents, now they’re encountering backlash before any deal is in the books, Data Center Watch found.

“In some cases,” researchers reported, “opposition mobilized before any project was officially filed, the mere rumor of a data center was enough to trigger organized resistance.”

  • aramis87@fedia.io
    10·
    18 days ago

    Lol, now that I’ve actually read the article …

    The imminent risk of living next to a data center may be why they show up for a meeting, but they’re committing to the issue for bigger, deeper reasons. Political corruption and corporate malfeasance make them feel politically impotent. Voicing their objections, sharing their anxieties with others, recalling politicians who override them and in some cases beating the opposition is giving them something few politicians are offering—a taste of political power.”

    Yes, yes, good!

    Proponents of data centers argue that debates over electricity price hikes or water resources are misinformed. […] emphasized that only drought-stricken locations or areas with strained grids need to worry about those concerns.

    The majority of the country is in a drought. And even if you go to an area where there isn’t drought or the grid is fine, the amount of water and electricity needed will strain resources.

    And economists suggested that communities risk overlooking little-discussed long-term benefits, like employment gains that “are likely to grow as new data centers attract businesses that use AI.”

    What local businesses are going to use AI to any degree? And using AI to any degree is going to be offset by job losses to AI. The only truly local jobs that will be created are a handful of people to look after the equipment - and even then, it’s more likely those people will be shipped in from elsewhere.

    It may be money standing in the Democrats’ way of fully embracing the data center resistance, she suggested, as many AI firms are donating hundreds of millions to campaigns to sway elections.

    Yeah, we already knew that.

    "the voters [are] showing up to fight data centers demonstrate that a lot of us want something different.” And what many politicians and AI fans see as a sea of unsubstantiated backlash is actually “the righteous rage driving millions of Americans to look up from their enemy and finally see, instead, a neighbor and future worth fighting for,”