'We used acid to sabotage Microsoft hyperscale data centre construction' • Hacker News Board

Re: 'We used acid to sabotage Microsoft hyperscale data centre construction'

#41

Post by tavavex » Thu, Jul 16, 2026, 5:16 PM UTC

afandian wrote: post #20

Legend2440 wrote: post #9

[flagged]

Luddites were campaigning against child labour and dangerous working conditions, amongst other things. Pick which side of history you want to be on!

> child labour and dangerous working conditions

I don't think these ideas are as toxic to the current political climate as you think they are. We're probably just a few short years away from the current generation of right-wing populists integrating ideas like "children are useless eaters that are your property to command, make them give back from all that you gave to them" and "work safety and environmental regulations are an emasculating evil, real men want to breathe poison and take risks" right into the core of their platforms.

Re: 'We used acid to sabotage Microsoft hyperscale data centre construction'

#42

Post by Legend2440 » Thu, Jul 16, 2026, 5:16 PM UTC

tadfisher wrote: post #29

Legend2440 wrote: post #9

[flagged]

Maybe the loom smashers should have won. I'm not sure we ended up on the better timeline.

Prior to industrialization everyone was broke and people regularly starved.

If the loom smashers had their way, we'd still be dirt farmers living in abject poverty.

Re: 'We used acid to sabotage Microsoft hyperscale data centre construction'

#43

Post by __MatrixMan__ » Thu, Jul 16, 2026, 5:16 PM UTC

Companies at this scale only speak existential threat. If you can't pose one, they don't even know you exist. I question whether this made enough of a dent to be noticed, but it's a start.

Re: 'We used acid to sabotage Microsoft hyperscale data centre construction'

#44

Post by namuol » Thu, Jul 16, 2026, 5:16 PM UTC

I suspect many HN commenters would be surprised to learn just how much the general public are on the side of these activists, condoning if not outright applauding their actions.

Re: 'We used acid to sabotage Microsoft hyperscale data centre construction'

#45

Post by mitthrowaway2 » Thu, Jul 16, 2026, 5:16 PM UTC

If they really wanted to have an impact on data center construction, they'd sneakily spill some silicone oil in semiconductor fab cleanrooms.

Re: 'We used acid to sabotage Microsoft hyperscale data centre construction'

#46

Post by 100percentjake » Thu, Jul 16, 2026, 5:17 PM UTC

junaru wrote: post #19

mc32 wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s as productive as people who glue themselves to roadways. It irritates drivers/commuters (who are then more likely to have a negative view of the cause) and it slows traffic resulting in even more fuel usage. Yet, they think they are doing something good.

Yeah people will hear about this and subscribe to chatgpt pro in spite. You have to be special to think this is comparable to paint throwing on works of art or blocking public roads. Everyone outside tech hates AI.

The people around me who seem the most enthusiastic about AI are specifically the non techies using it to make slop images, event flyers, stylized selfies, and asking it if drinking glue is bad for their health.

Re: 'We used acid to sabotage Microsoft hyperscale data centre construction'

#47

Post by skeaker » Thu, Jul 16, 2026, 5:17 PM UTC

mc32 wrote: post #8

Aunche wrote: post #5

What exactly are they trying to accomplish? I doubt they would just abandon the project. They would just redo the concrete which would emit even more emissions.

It’s as productive as people who glue themselves to roadways. It irritates drivers/commuters (who are then more likely to have a negative view of the cause) and it slows traffic resulting in even more fuel usage. Yet, they think they are doing something good.

I suppose if you're one of the people that live near where it would be built it might be worth sabotaging it if only to go another week without the incessant hum and brown, filthy tap water.

Re: 'We used acid to sabotage Microsoft hyperscale data centre construction'

#48

Post by appreciatorBus » Thu, Jul 16, 2026, 5:17 PM UTC

junaru wrote: post #19

mc32 wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s as productive as people who glue themselves to roadways. It irritates drivers/commuters (who are then more likely to have a negative view of the cause) and it slows traffic resulting in even more fuel usage. Yet, they think they are doing something good.

Yeah people will hear about this and subscribe to chatgpt pro in spite. You have to be special to think this is comparable to paint throwing on works of art or blocking public roads. Everyone outside tech hates AI.

I don't know a single person under 80 outside of tech who isn't using ChatGPT or more on a regular basis. If you really think everyone hates it, you are being very selective in your information/opinion sources. Yes 100% of lefty journos probably hate it, but they are an unrepresentative elite, jockeying for cultural power.

Re: 'We used acid to sabotage Microsoft hyperscale data centre construction'

#49

Post by tock » Thu, Jul 16, 2026, 5:17 PM UTC

junaru wrote: post #19

mc32 wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s as productive as people who glue themselves to roadways. It irritates drivers/commuters (who are then more likely to have a negative view of the cause) and it slows traffic resulting in even more fuel usage. Yet, they think they are doing something good.

Yeah people will hear about this and subscribe to chatgpt pro in spite. You have to be special to think this is comparable to paint throwing on works of art or blocking public roads. Everyone outside tech hates AI.

Weirdly the only people I know who hates AI wholeheartedly is in tech.

Re: 'We used acid to sabotage Microsoft hyperscale data centre construction'

#50

Post by bix6 » Thu, Jul 16, 2026, 5:17 PM UTC

abirch wrote: post #12

exabrial wrote: post #7

Right, all they're going to do is rip the concrete out and repour it, causing even more damage to the environment (concrete production and curing is unbelievably C02 intensive) I don't disagree we shouldn't be expanding power consumption unless we've moved the vast majority (>90%) of the load off fossil fuels, but this certainly didn't help anything.

It's similar to the people who block roadways to protest climate change. Usually it makes the commuters frustrated and doesn't change anything. Personally I think data centers should pay a 100% fossil fuel tax. Markets respond to incentives.

Data centers should just pay anything really. They get massive tax breaks, eat up huge swathes of industrial zoned land, and piss off anyone nearby. And for what? 3 permanent jobs and a penny worth of tax revenue.