The author went on a road trip to look into data center opposition. Populism, NIMBYism, YIMBYism, big tech, unions, local governance, trust and mistrust in government, this has it all. Well-written, IMO. Some select quotes for…
…those among you who like to analyze populism:
>My conversations make me wonder if the technical content of data center deals is mostly beside the point. Closed-loop cooling systems? “I don’t believe them.” Paying millions in taxes? “I don’t believe them.” Creating a thousand jobs? “I don’t believe them.” I hear a reflexive skepticism of every claim.
>Rather, the way that AI companies engage with communities—forcing NDAs, dangling billion-dollar promises, pushing environmental externalities far away from AI’s wealthy user base—resembles a classic story about dark money in politics. *Your politicians are being bought by billionaires and gigantic corporations to screw you over. It’s not Skynet: it’s the oligarchy.*
…those among you who hate unions:
>“Now, if autonomous equipment comes on the job site, my guys oversee the operations, my guys do the maintenance, my guys supervise,” he insisted. “I don’t care if they’ve got to count paper clips in the middle of a construction site. They’re going to be there.”
…those among you who love wonks:
>A jolly civil engineer and alderman takes a break from fry duty to nerd out about municipal finance—he thinks the data center is a great deal, as the TID will fix the town’s aging water filtration plant without the need for loans.
…those among you who are optimists:
>“When I was a young man, noise was money,” Terry told us. “Milwaukee just revered these huge, massive industrial factories, because this engine is paying our bills, sending our kids to school, feeding us, housing us. A lot of those foundries had furnaces. The emissions that would come out, the slag that would come out, the oil in the machine shops, it was all pollution.”
>“Now data centers are like public enemy number one to many of these people. And it’s clean technology!”
DEEP_STATE_NATE on
Unsurprisingly an industry lead by people bragging about being techno-feudalists does not engender the public towards the building of castles
datums on
The extent to which the fourth estate has failed the public on this issue is astounding, and certainly not accidental. These data centres are mostly for delivering services that their opponents rely on for every aspect of their lives. It’s like three car suburban households wanting to ban roads because illegal immigrants drive on them.
I don’t understand how democracy is supposed to function in this kind of information environment.
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The author went on a road trip to look into data center opposition. Populism, NIMBYism, YIMBYism, big tech, unions, local governance, trust and mistrust in government, this has it all. Well-written, IMO. Some select quotes for…
…those among you who like to analyze populism:
>My conversations make me wonder if the technical content of data center deals is mostly beside the point. Closed-loop cooling systems? “I don’t believe them.” Paying millions in taxes? “I don’t believe them.” Creating a thousand jobs? “I don’t believe them.” I hear a reflexive skepticism of every claim.
>Rather, the way that AI companies engage with communities—forcing NDAs, dangling billion-dollar promises, pushing environmental externalities far away from AI’s wealthy user base—resembles a classic story about dark money in politics. *Your politicians are being bought by billionaires and gigantic corporations to screw you over. It’s not Skynet: it’s the oligarchy.*
…those among you who hate unions:
>“Now, if autonomous equipment comes on the job site, my guys oversee the operations, my guys do the maintenance, my guys supervise,” he insisted. “I don’t care if they’ve got to count paper clips in the middle of a construction site. They’re going to be there.”
…those among you who love wonks:
>A jolly civil engineer and alderman takes a break from fry duty to nerd out about municipal finance—he thinks the data center is a great deal, as the TID will fix the town’s aging water filtration plant without the need for loans.
…those among you who are optimists:
>“When I was a young man, noise was money,” Terry told us. “Milwaukee just revered these huge, massive industrial factories, because this engine is paying our bills, sending our kids to school, feeding us, housing us. A lot of those foundries had furnaces. The emissions that would come out, the slag that would come out, the oil in the machine shops, it was all pollution.”
>“Now data centers are like public enemy number one to many of these people. And it’s clean technology!”
Unsurprisingly an industry lead by people bragging about being techno-feudalists does not engender the public towards the building of castles
The extent to which the fourth estate has failed the public on this issue is astounding, and certainly not accidental. These data centres are mostly for delivering services that their opponents rely on for every aspect of their lives. It’s like three car suburban households wanting to ban roads because illegal immigrants drive on them.
I don’t understand how democracy is supposed to function in this kind of information environment.