11–20 of 28 posts
If it's true that they can be constructed in space and operated remotely, then they can also be placed on container ships, on isolated ocean platforms like oil rigs, or in unpopulated areas on land.
If it's not true that they can be constructed in space, then we'd probably better stop telling ourselves that it's possible.
I live in a town in the Midwest that just voted down a data center project. Personally I think it's mostly a proxy vote against bigtech/social-media. People are pretty fed up with their practices but don't have power to act at a national level. But, they DO have power at the local level to show up to town council and talk directly (in-person) to their representatives. I think the other side of this is that there's th…
Put a different way, some companies have made a lot of money with business models that hinge on victims never being able to reach a human.
Those same companies want to set up phone centers in the neighborhoods of the people they’ve neglected that also will not take their calls.
Town hall it is.
Maine is about to become the first state to ban major new data centers
I've been interested in understanding what would make people more amenable to data centers. We kind of need them, though arguably many of the ones being built now are motivated by foolish AI bubble incentives. Quieter? Lower water use? Lower energy use? Mandatory accessory green spaces? Property taxes that reflect the value being derived relative to inconvenience/pain inflicted on the community? Jobs programs? I thin…
This empowers people making them feel less beholden to rising energy prices, and gives the data center more energy for its needs as the grid is freed up.
I live in a town in the Midwest that just voted down a data center project. Personally I think it's mostly a proxy vote against bigtech/social-media. People are pretty fed up with their practices but don't have power to act at a national level. But, they DO have power at the local level to show up to town council and talk directly (in-person) to their representatives. I think the other side of this is that there's th…
One argument I've heard that people try to use as proponents of these datacenters is that they bring in employment in construction and electrical engineering even if it's temporary. Their argument falls apart very quickly when it's pointed out that because of the specialization many owners of these locations hire specific firms and contractors willing to travel across the nation for the work instead of hiring a local…
I've been interested in understanding what would make people more amenable to data centers. We kind of need them, though arguably many of the ones being built now are motivated by foolish AI bubble incentives. Quieter? Lower water use? Lower energy use? Mandatory accessory green spaces? Property taxes that reflect the value being derived relative to inconvenience/pain inflicted on the community? Jobs programs? I thin…
It's not enough to offer incentives. You have to explain why you even need to do it in the first place, and the answer better not be "we want money."
I've been interested in understanding what would make people more amenable to data centers. We kind of need them, though arguably many of the ones being built now are motivated by foolish AI bubble incentives. Quieter? Lower water use? Lower energy use? Mandatory accessory green spaces? Property taxes that reflect the value being derived relative to inconvenience/pain inflicted on the community? Jobs programs? I thin…
Honestly, I think it's possible that there isn't really organic opposition to data centers from people living in communities near them at all - but instead, there is opposition to them from people like Mother Jones magazine journalist Sophie Hurwitz, who is therefore motivated to write an article reporting on Maine banning data centers while framing it as a reasonable policy, and implying that this is a reasonable thing for other local governments considering data center bans to enact.
I note that every person cited in this article is some kind of national-level ideological actor - a member of a pro-data-center lobbying group; a researcher affiliated with the Federation of American Scientists which is a NGO headquartered in Washington D.C.; the head of Good Jobs First, which is another Washington D.C.-headquartered nonprofit; and several well-known national politicians who are already known for being suspicious of the tech industry.
There's no quote from any ordinary person in Maine who talks about some concrete negative impact of a data center near them - the closest thing is a link to an article with a quote from the Maine state representative who sponsored the bill, which states: "“It’s not that there’s no place for data centers in Maine,” said Democratic Rep. Melanie Sachs, who sponsored the measure. “Frankly, the tradeoffs have not been shown to be of benefit to our ratepayers, water usage or community benefit in terms of economic activity.”. The idea that data centers use a particularly large amount of water is basically complete bullshit promulgated by national-level prestige journalists (https://www.andymasley.com/writing/the-ai-water-issue-is-fak...), which makes me skeptical that this is an issue brought to Sachs' attention from her local constituents.
Data centers really do use a lot of electrical power, but the article has the quote "n Maine, electricity bills have already increased by 58 percent on average over the last 5 years. Much of that price jump is likely due to the state’s reliance on natural gas—but some Mainers fear that data center buildout will only increase their expenses.", which is the sort of thing you'd write if you were trying to associate a rise in electricity costs with data centers without being able to demonstrate that data centers are actually causing electric power costs to increase for ordinary people.
I've been interested in understanding what would make people more amenable to data centers. We kind of need them, though arguably many of the ones being built now are motivated by foolish AI bubble incentives. Quieter? Lower water use? Lower energy use? Mandatory accessory green spaces? Property taxes that reflect the value being derived relative to inconvenience/pain inflicted on the community? Jobs programs? I thin…
There's no good reason to build datacenters in many of the places people are trying to build them. Look at all the ones they're trying to build in Phoenix or Tucson, Arizona, or in New Mexico. These are deserts! They're the exact opposite of a place where it makes sense to build a datacenter. It's not enough to offer incentives. You have to explain why you even need to do it in the first place, and the answer better…