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Americans are rallying against data centers. Surprisingly few are getting built

cnn.com

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Re: Americans are rallying against data centers. Surprisingly few are getting built

#71

Post by kridsdale1 »

burnte wrote: post #51
TimTheTinker wrote: post #15

The rumor is going around on X that foreign enemies of the US (especially China) are trying to influence Americans through social networks against building data centers.

Billionaries like Kevin O'Leary and his ilk are behind those rumors because they want to discredit the local resistance. There's one activist in Utah, Caroline Gleich, has been exceptionally outspoken against O'Leary and he's said she's part of Chinese led resistance. It's pure insanity.

Classic red scare.

“Oh, you hate the military industrial complex? What are you, a Pinko?”

Re: Americans are rallying against data centers. Surprisingly few are getting built

#72

Post by bigyabai »

boothby wrote: post #20
TimTheTinker wrote: post #15

The rumor is going around on X that foreign enemies of the US (especially China) are trying to influence Americans through social networks against building data centers.

This wouldn't be the first time that homegrown dissent was characterized as foreign meddling. Red Scare is back in vogue.

In fairness, a lot of Red Scare propaganda did stem from grounded and realistic espionage concerns.

McCarthyism was a total overreaction in hindsight, but had roots in pervasive foreign meddling. For the past 100 years, America has been a target of influence campaigns from both foreign and domestic organizations.

Re: Americans are rallying against data centers. Surprisingly few are getting built

#73

Post by goda90 »

Legend2440 wrote: post #64
goda90 wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Privatize the profits, socialize the losses" So many of these things DON'T benefit the public, especially as automation reduces the number of jobs they produce. They mostly benefit the capital holders and they'll take steps to increase their profit even if they hurt the public in the long run.

Nonsense. Who consumes the goods produced by the factories and mines? Who lives in the apartments and takes the high speed rail? Automation is also a massive boon to the common man. It's the only reason we're not both dirt farmers right now, and is responsible for most of the increase in standard of living over the last two centuries. Your views are short-sighted.

> Who consumes the goods produced by the factories and mines?

Not all consumption is good. It can harm health, relationships, etc. And many goods have been ravaged by planned obsolescence and other corner cutting such that we're forced to consume more to maintain status quo.

> Who lives in the apartments and takes the high speed rail?

This is frankly an entirely different class from mines and factories. While there is "NIMBYism" over both, the reasoning for it can be vastly different.

The reason I started my comment with "Privatize the profits, socialize the losses" is not because we shouldn't have any mines or factories or apartments or high speed rail or automation. It's because our corrupted system means the negative impacts of them is felt more by the public while the positive impacts are concentrated in fewer people. Automation that enriches everyone is great. Automation that leaves people destitute is not. These things don't just naturally end up on the positive side.

Re: Americans are rallying against data centers. Surprisingly few are getting built

#74

Post by bigyabai »

Legend2440 wrote: post #64
goda90 wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Privatize the profits, socialize the losses" So many of these things DON'T benefit the public, especially as automation reduces the number of jobs they produce. They mostly benefit the capital holders and they'll take steps to increase their profit even if they hurt the public in the long run.

Nonsense. Who consumes the goods produced by the factories and mines? Who lives in the apartments and takes the high speed rail? Automation is also a massive boon to the common man. It's the only reason we're not both dirt farmers right now, and is responsible for most of the increase in standard of living over the last two centuries. Your views are short-sighted.

> Automation is also a massive boon to the common man.

So much so, that we aren't allowed to download and finetune the model weights that we helped to train?

When OpenAI and Anthropic start begging Uncle Sam for bailouts, I'll be voting to let them go bankrupt. There's no love for companies that leech off of the common man like this and then beg for more tax money to larp as a profitable company.

America's AI corporations are not your friend. They're not as friendly as Apple or Google were, because those companies depended on a positive B2C business relationship. OpenAI and Anthropic both grovel at the feet of the government and eye an IPO at the same time. It's pathetic.

Re: Americans are rallying against data centers. Surprisingly few are getting built

#75

Post by 0xy »

bs7280 wrote: post #10
boc wrote: post #2

One under-discussed topic is whether Americans hate data centers in their neighborhoods, or whether they actually just hate gas turbine generators running 24/7 in their neighborhoods.

I hate that I am subsidizing the power bills for these data centers.

So you would support the construction of data centers with completely off-grid power sources that you did not subsidize?

Didn't think so.

Re: Americans are rallying against data centers. Surprisingly few are getting built

#76

Post by klipklop »

TimTheTinker wrote: post #15

The rumor is going around on X that foreign enemies of the US (especially China) are trying to influence Americans through social networks against building data centers.

Nope. People don’t want them because they fear the DC will further increase utility bills. These companies openly talk about eliminating their jobs via AI with glee. Why would anybody help them? They are against the average persons best interests for their profit.

It’s debatable if a DC will affect local energy costs but people don’t want to risk it. Big tech has lost all their social capital. I would say at this point all of corporate America has. They have too much power over the public. People are starting to push back.

Re: Americans are rallying against data centers. Surprisingly few are getting built

#77

Post by bs7280 »

0xy wrote: post #75
bs7280 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hate that I am subsidizing the power bills for these data centers.

So you would support the construction of data centers with completely off-grid power sources that you did not subsidize? Didn't think so.

What about my comment gave you the confidence to (incorrectly) answer your own question for me?

I want to see large investment in mass produced nuclear power plants, enabling us to do exactly what you are suggesting.

Re: Americans are rallying against data centers. Surprisingly few are getting built

#78

Post by cousinbryce »

kridsdale1 wrote: post #71
burnte wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Billionaries like Kevin O'Leary and his ilk are behind those rumors because they want to discredit the local resistance. There's one activist in Utah, Caroline Gleich, has been exceptionally outspoken against O'Leary and he's said she's part of Chinese led resistance. It's pure insanity.

Classic red scare. “Oh, you hate the military industrial complex? What are you, a Pinko?”

Literally felony contempt of business model

Re: Americans are rallying against data centers. Surprisingly few are getting built

#80

Post by TimTheTinker »

tempfile wrote: post #32
TimTheTinker wrote: post #15

The rumor is going around on X that foreign enemies of the US (especially China) are trying to influence Americans through social networks against building data centers.

Why would you believe anything posted on X? The platform deliberately promotes misinformation, and has for years.

> deliberately promotes misinformation

I think it deliberately avoids censorship of any kind, which makes it both more open to truth (if anyone posts it there) and more susceptible to manipulation.

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