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Data centers trigger voter backlash

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Re: Data centers trigger voter backlash

#21

Post by LorenPechtel »

luxuryballs wrote: post #3

When I look at the total number of acres in a state and the number that may get taken up by a data center… not that we should even have to look at this spec but still not sure why people are so focused on data center construction as an issue unless it’s literally going to be next to your house, is there anything more than FUD going on here? And perhaps people taking advantage of it specifically as a talking point giv…

The problem is not the center per se. The problem is the power. And, all too often they make up for the lack of utility capacity by putting in their own noisy generators.

Re: Data centers trigger voter backlash

#23

Post by toomuchtodo »

echelon wrote: post #22
cdrnsf wrote: post #14

Nothing this technology offers is, to me, worth the noise pollution or increase in water and electricity rates.

[flagged]

Enjoy it until the subsidies end and the economics catch up. You can afford it now with broad subsidies, but likely not the true cost.

https://www.theregister.com/ai-and-ml/2026/06/24/ai-coding-a...

https://mimetiq.substack.com/p/the-tokenmaxxing-hangover

https://fortune.com/2026/05/28/tokenmaxxing-is-dead-companie...

https://www.axios.com/2026/05/28/ai-spending-roi-enterprise-...

https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/article/big-techs-27-trill...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrJzjC4kKCY

Re: Data centers trigger voter backlash

#24

Post by GarnetFloride »

luxuryballs wrote: post #3

When I look at the total number of acres in a state and the number that may get taken up by a data center… not that we should even have to look at this spec but still not sure why people are so focused on data center construction as an issue unless it’s literally going to be next to your house, is there anything more than FUD going on here? And perhaps people taking advantage of it specifically as a talking point giv…

You can't look at the total acreage of the state as a metric when 64.4% of the state is owned by the federal government.

The proposed site is twice the size of Manhattan, NY and sized for 9GW of energy which is more than the entire state uses yearly. We literally do not have the water to support a data center that huge.

They just enacted a fireworks ban because the weather people just had to create a whole new category for how dry and dangerous it is. Air quality is a constant problem because all the pollution from regions West of Utah collect right against the mountains. A few years ago we woke up to what looked like heavy fog, but it was smoke --from Siberia.

Re: Data centers trigger voter backlash

#25

Post by TheGRS »

cosmic_cheese wrote: post #11

This is a pretty predictable reaction to the underhanded tactics being used to try to force these projects through either before citizens know they're happening and often, when citizens are aware, against their will. As a side note, I wish we could muster this kind of vigor for just about any other type of public infrastructure project… nuclear/wind/solar power, fiberoptic internet, public high speed rail, new cities…

You get the same vigor against all of those project all the time. Windmills, solar, nuclear, rail, etc. There's a stronger will to oppose than to build.

Re: Data centers trigger voter backlash

#26

Post by missingcolours »

yardie wrote: post #6

A few months ago the founders of the top AI companies walked into Capitol Hill. Tried to explain to a room full of elected representatives exactly how their technology was going to put almost half the working population into under/unemployment and they should consider UBI [0]. Then they went back to the airport, got on their corporate jets, and went home secure in the knowledge that they really showed them. That they…

The people doing the voting are mostly talking about how much water datacenters supposedly use.

Re: Data centers trigger voter backlash

#27

Post by Ethee »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #23
echelon wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

Enjoy it until the subsidies end and the economics catch up. You can afford it now with broad subsidies, but likely not the true cost. https://www.theregister.com/ai-and-ml/2026/06/24/ai-coding-a... https://mimetiq.substack.com/p/the-tokenmaxxing-hangover https://fortune.com/2026/05/28/tokenmaxxing-is-dead-companie... https://www.axios.com/2026/05/28/ai-spending-roi-enterprise-... https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/ar…

If you only ever want frontier model performance then sure, you have to pay to play. But as it is now with open models, some of which I can even run from my gaming PC at home, we're only about 6 months behind frontier performance. Even when the money starts drying up for those at the forefront, the genie is out of the bottle.

Re: Data centers trigger voter backlash

#28

Post by apothegm »

luxuryballs wrote: post #3

When I look at the total number of acres in a state and the number that may get taken up by a data center… not that we should even have to look at this spec but still not sure why people are so focused on data center construction as an issue unless it’s literally going to be next to your house, is there anything more than FUD going on here? And perhaps people taking advantage of it specifically as a talking point giv…

Water usage concerns in a desert, perhaps?

Re: Data centers trigger voter backlash

#29

Post by nekusar »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #23
echelon wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

Enjoy it until the subsidies end and the economics catch up. You can afford it now with broad subsidies, but likely not the true cost. https://www.theregister.com/ai-and-ml/2026/06/24/ai-coding-a... https://mimetiq.substack.com/p/the-tokenmaxxing-hangover https://fortune.com/2026/05/28/tokenmaxxing-is-dead-companie... https://www.axios.com/2026/05/28/ai-spending-roi-enterprise-... https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/ar…

And that's why I pivoted at the beginning of this year to LocalLLMs.

I can afford the hardware I already have. And I can run jobs on it as I see fit. Sure, its slower than the corpo LLMs, but we're already seeing lying, silent downgrading, and advertisements, even when paying for tokens.

When your systems goes tits up or priced out, mine will still work.

Re: Data centers trigger voter backlash

#30

Post by toomuchtodo »

Ethee wrote: post #27
toomuchtodo wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Enjoy it until the subsidies end and the economics catch up. You can afford it now with broad subsidies, but likely not the true cost. https://www.theregister.com/ai-and-ml/2026/06/24/ai-coding-a... https://mimetiq.substack.com/p/the-tokenmaxxing-hangover https://fortune.com/2026/05/28/tokenmaxxing-is-dead-companie... https://www.axios.com/2026/05/28/ai-spending-roi-enterprise-... https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/ar…

If you only ever want frontier model performance then sure, you have to pay to play. But as it is now with open models, some of which I can even run from my gaming PC at home, we're only about 6 months behind frontier performance. Even when the money starts drying up for those at the forefront, the genie is out of the bottle.

And yet, the productivity increases with existing models are meh (ie not 0 but certainly not worth what is being spent) based on the data. Enjoy the tulips while they bloom.

https://www.bok.or.kr/eng/bbs/B0000354/view.do?nttId=1009840...

https://simonwillison.net/2026/Feb/9/ai-intensifies-work/

AI Doesn't Reduce Work–It Intensifies It - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46955703 - February 2026 (306 comments)

https://hbr.org/2026/02/ai-doesnt-reduce-work-it-intensifies...

AI Doesn't Reduce Work–It Intensifies It - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46945755 - February 2026 (172 comments)

AI-generated “workslop” is destroying productivity? - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45337253 - September 2025 (171 comments)

Seven Myths about AI and Productivity: What the Evidence Really Says - https://cmr.berkeley.edu/2025/10/seven-myths-about-ai-and-pr... - October 16th, 2025 ("Despite widespread enthusiasm for generative AI, empirical evidence reveals inconsistent productivity impacts contradicting popular assumptions. Based on recent meta-analyses and systematic reviews, we debunk seven pervasive myths about AI's workplace benefits. AI's productivity gains are highly context-dependent, varying significantly by user skill level and task complexity. Contrary to expectations, human-AI collaboration often underperforms either agent working independently, except in creative tasks. While AI can accelerate individual work, meta-analytic evidence finds no robust relationship between AI adoption and aggregate productivity gains. We call for research on context-specific organizational deployment strategies to capture genuine value.")

The GenAI Divide: State of AI in Business 2025 - https://www.artificialintelligence-news.com/wp-content/uploa... - July 2025

("extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence")

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