why don't people want them? the higher electricity cost, the sound, the pollution, the potential for more toxic pollution when there's a fire, growing resentment toward AI for eliminating jobs, the water usage, growing resentment toward computer for ruining society, disapproval of the surveillance state... among other things...
Date: November 4th, 2026 2:16 PM Author: gibberish (?)
Lots of that is bs. Data centers and AI are responsible for just about all of the economic growth over the past 5 years. The Chinese are more than happy to sub in.
last i heard, the Chinese were just distilling our AI tech anyways. but what exactly is the problem if they do pull ahead of us in this area? not my fault our economy is built around a bubble
Date: November 4th, 2026 3:08 PM Author: gibberish (?)
Bubble? The Chinese models are about 6 months behind the US companies. However, that's like a concept car. Nobody is driving it yet. The real difference is the ecosystem. China had about a quarter of the computational power of the US. That allows US companies better access and spreads the potential list of innovators across a much wider pool. That's also remarkable because the Chinese have about twice as much electricity capacity and obviously very limited environmental concerns.
The US currently uses access to AI as a foreign policy tool as well, which has been extremely effective at countering the Chinese belt & road initiative. Right or wrong, AI is the bet to grow productivity while population declines. Whoever wins this race will set the system for the next generation.
Date: November 4th, 2026 3:25 PM Author: the walter white of this generation (walt jr.)
No, he's right. So long as chinks have disgusting slanty eyes and small statures, and their women compulsively fuck white men, American will be superior to The Chink.
There's absolutely no reason to be in some "competition" with china. Over anything.
Date: November 4th, 2026 2:26 PM Author: The Penis
independent reviews have refuted most of that stuff. most of them don't generate noise complaints, they generate a tiny percent of emissions, and use about as much water as an avg office building
Date: November 4th, 2026 2:41 PM Author: frank rizzo
jfc. if this keeps up we might actually wind up having to build shit in this country instead of china. worst of all, some Trump voters may even end up getting jobs out of it. can't have that.
Running backup generators permanently is incredibly expensive and will wear them out. This is a great opportunity for Florida though. We can just build some power plants and invite the data centers to build here.
false, they build where there is spare electric capacity. it doesn't make financial sense to build where they have to rely on costly backup generators full-time.
Date: November 4th, 2026 2:36 PM Author: ohnoes (🧐)
public opinion is purely based on vibes of "computer/screen = bad" and hating data centers is just a proxy for general malaise and desire for punishment. you could also argue that, I don't know, the downtowns of cities are huge sources of noise pollution and water consumption, because anything where stuff happens in a concentrated area is.
yeah the water consumption always seemed like a silly argument because all the computer stuff we already do consumes a bunch of water, and closed-loop cooling systems recycle the water anyways. like when someone writes an insta comment like "yOu WaStEd WaTeR fOr ThIs?" in response to someone using AI for something, i'm like "bro you just wasted water writing this comment" lol.
the sound one is legit though, and it's not just the perceptible sound; they can also make residents ill with infrasound pollution. yes cities are also loud but this is qualitatively different and has medical repercussions. and even if it were just comparable to city noise, many people who don't live in cities value not having to deal with that.
just admit you want full-fledged communism, it'd be more honest and you wouldn't have to defend yourself with nonsense arguments cited from influencer entertainment videos. i'd personally respect you more for it.
Date: November 4th, 2026 2:41 PM Author: ohnoes (🧐)
data center opposition is most certainly not exclusively democrat. it's more like 65/35 and the republicans who oppose it are generally are country types that XO reveres (or used to anyway). there is tons of anti-data center sentiment in are country because it's a stand in for technology writ large
sadly about a third of republicans are also communists in waiting just needing to be inspired by the right candidate. it would've been bernie if they let him run in 2016.
Real talk: everyone is out for themselves. In a world where no one has jobs and AI/robots are doing everything and the choices are "fuck you, trillionaire tech overlords get everything" and "SOCIALISM!" the latter will win in a landslide.
automation has never in the past resulted in the tech creators getting everything. it has resulted in humans living in much higher prosperity than before the automation tech came along.
So you would roll us back to the time when a shirt cost 12 weeks' wages rather than $5? I really really want the anti-AI campaigns to run with people like you.
My point isn't that I would ban technology since you can't actually do that. My point is that your point that it will be awesome for everyone because historically it has been is total bullshit. With many of these changes you get generations that live in misery as a result. I'll go back to a very early pre-historic example. We have evidence that the agricultural revolution led to the deaths of most of humanity. Hunter gatherers didn't have the time or resources to build up armies and go pillage neighboring tribes. Once agriculture was a thing they had lots of kids who were more likely to survive, stockpiled food, focused on building early weapons, and went raiding. And of course the benefits weren't equally distributed. This ultimately led to the first empires.
The early industrial revolution led to everyone working 80 hour hellish shifts in factories. Tycoons got richer than ever.
Ultimately, humanity adapted but both took large periods of time where life actually became terrible for many. It looks like this is about to happen again.
Before the industrial revolution people worked dusk till dawn 6 or 7 days a week, basically similar hours to working in factories. They voluntarily chose to work in factories rather than farms. By the millions.
Every action that is taken has a potential to fuck someone over. If I save a kid's life, he could turn out to be a mass murderer someday. Yet it is still an extremely positive-sum action.
Labor-saving technological progress is also hugely positive-sum.
Date: November 4th, 2026 2:56 PM Author: The Penis
I'm not saying there is no proof that any data centers pollute or use water or are noisy, but I tend to be much more skeptical of the kinds of sensationalized influencer propagated content that make blanket statements against a technology being Bad, and that this technology does x, y and z universally, and take more seriously independent reviews that actually look at the specifications of specific instances of it. I can't say that generally no data centers do things that some people wouldn't like, but what I can say with confidence is that the concerns are overblown and it is suspicious that they are directed at "data centers" vs. anything else. why suddenly the focus on "data centers" vs. other technologies that use electricity and water? there are obviously motivations behind the fixation and those motivations can be attacked. It has become a politically charged category onto which people project broader anxieties about AI, corporations, and technological change. I become really skeptical when politically charged categories like this arise. You could have two equally polluting and energy using facilities, a manufacturing plant and a data center and people will oppose the data center now because of vibes, with no material difference between them.
yeah your position that the criticism is overblown is defensible considering how much you like computer. i don't think it's overblown based on the concrete evidence i've seen of communities facing these issues plus all my doubts about the direction of technology. for me personally the biggest issue is the surveillance state aspect of it. they only need to build all these data centers bc this industry is all about extracting and selling our data and using it to manipulate and ultimately control us. we're not building these so like AI can discover cures for diseases lol.
Date: November 4th, 2026 3:17 PM Author: The Penis
I don't think concerns about surveillance should be directed at the physical infrastructure itself though thats part of my point. Even if data centers stopped tomorrow it wouldn't stop it. it has to do with how systems themselves are governed and used. Shouldn't you be more for european style privacy regulations like gdpr in that case? I used to be in favor of that stuff, but I just think it makes it more expensive and a pain for people to develop, although probably not as big of a deal anymore now with ai accelerated development. But also even in the US you can mitigate a lot of stuff just with good data hygeine practice. using vpns, private dns, limiting social media use, turning telemetry off, not using logged in google etc etc.
idk where it "should" be directed but i think everyone feels so concerned about the direction of society that they'll take it out on any part of the system if it's up for popular vote.
it completely clear that the US is no better. american tech overlords who all waved stanford libertarian flags in their youth want absolute control and surveillance of the us population. they have completely disregarded the civil liberties and privacy side of libertarianism for capital-makes-right fascism.
i used to think the us cared about civil liberties and privacy. we obviously don't. between israeli (and jew led) adtech firms, big tech, and big defense, there's a sustained effort to know and control americans by americans.
let's open up the playing field and give our data, driving habits, and everything else to other players, including china.
She is right. China can't do shit to you as an American. The US government can destroy you if they have the right info. If you're Chinese then you would rather have the US know your dirty secrets than the Chinese government.
Date: November 4th, 2026 3:42 PM Author: gibberish (?)
The US tax payer will pay the Chinese data harvesting company for the information. And this is a bit of a side tangent. If you have privacy concerns you are much better off getting them redressed through the US system versus the Chinese.
Yeah, the US system has a track record of really stopping the Snowden type stuff. Great point.
China has their own interests not to give too much to the US government. We're enemies and one day WW3 will be between the US and China. Everyone knows this. We'll lose, btw.
Date: November 4th, 2026 3:48 PM Author: gibberish (?)
Compared to fucking China!?!??? Jesus Christ
No we don't fucking lose. China became geriatric this year. They desperately need AI more than we do. AI is also why their gdp as a percentage of US gdp peaked in 2023. They thought we were to decrepit and nonfunctioning to produce another innovation. They bet wrong and not they're going to pay libs to help them catch up.
i used to be the most anti-china person around. but the last few years have shown the us leadership across government and industry is way worse. bring on the 20k byd trucks and chinese ai. free or cheap distilled models that provide 90% of state of the art performance at little cost will drive the competition we need to excel.
Date: November 4th, 2026 3:50 PM Author: gibberish (?)
They are not your friends. Eg Those cheap trucks will only be cheap until they've destroyed your domestic market, then you're stuck being dependent on knock off crap at the same price.
no, it will put downward pressure on american manufacturers to get more efficient and build better cars. just like the introduction of japanese cars in the 70s, and korean cars later, it will make the us car market stronger and benefit the american consumer.
poseur queers will keep driving 100k f250 duallys to work desk jobs while people who actually need trucks will get functional, efficient ones for 25k.
i was answering the question of why everyone voted against them. i have a pretty good understanding of the surrounding issues and i summarized what people are saying without giving an opinion on how convincing i find each reason personally.
LOL you are an ignoramus who gets your 'information' from TikTok slop.
LOL the sound? These are built in industrial zones and are located far enough away with buffers that they can't be heard. Pollution? It's literally a bunch of fucking computer racks....there is no fucking pollution. Studies are mixed on the electricity cost, with some showing they actually reduce costs. Water usage is less than heavy industry and less than agriculture, before even factoring in that they produce a lot more value per dollar consumed than these other industries.
i didn't say i find all of those arguments convincing lol i'm answering the question of why everyone voted against them. you didn't address the ones that are highest on my list, like being against the surveillance state.
so photography and TV and the microphone and the internet increased the surveillance state. i wouldn't have banned any of those techs just for that reason.
the jobs stuff is just luddism. basically relies on the argument "THIS TIME is different!" compared to the rest of the human history of technology.
Retarded. Some are blocks from residential homes and running loud dirty natural gas generators 24/7.
Nobody gives a fuck how much "value per water dollar" it produces besides the investors who receive all of that value and conveniently never put these things where they live.
lol dude why are you lying? they are not running generators 24/7, nor even relying on them as anything but a backup source of power. and "blocks from residential homes" sounds decently far for what is essentially a bunch of computers on racks. if you want them farther, you can establish bigger buffers without banning.
Good luck in 2028 repturds, im sure this will work out for you!
At 8:15 p.m., Greg Pirio heard the generators start. By dawn, the lung pain he described had pushed him out of his Sterling home and sent him 15 miles down the road to his daughter’s house in Vienna.
The source was Vantage Data Centers’ VA2 campus in Sterling, where dozens of diesel backup generators ran for nearly 24 hours after a failure knocked out the facility’s onsite natural-gas turbines. The timing compounded the problem: a Code Red air-quality alert was already in effect, driven partly by Canadian wildfire smoke drifting across the region.
VA2 is not connected to the electric grid. Eight onsite natural-gas turbines supply primary power, with the diesel generators serving as backup.
Date: November 4th, 2026 2:16 PM Author: AZNgirl asking Democrat Handsome to Pound Her Next
ppl are retarded and propositions are retarded, this is why u have representative democracy, u cant let prowl morons vote on shit like this. they just hear crap and vote based on that, its low info low IQ retardation
Date: November 4th, 2026 2:21 PM Author: The Penis
Why would you be against it? Most of the anti-datacenter sentiment is driven by what borderline amounts to propaganda and misinformation along with general anti-sentiment. At the very least it is amplification of some legit concerns and oversimplification. There is strong evidence of some of it being driven by literal foreign propaganda. Data centers are essential infrastructure for cloud computing, scientific research and ai. Regulations on it doesn't evens top it, it just slows it down and makes it more expensive, then smaller providers can't compete with aws, microsoft and google.
Date: November 4th, 2026 2:24 PM Author: (*)> (i'm in your city)
why would we want gigantic windowless boxes shitting up the land? and yes, i am willing to sacrifice on cloud computing, scientic research, and ai
also, what computer autists can't understand, as has been shown year over year over year issue over issue over issue, is people don't like computer. me included
Date: November 4th, 2026 2:29 PM Author: The Penis
That's all subjective vibes based bs. Noones slowing down the economy, and not building the tech they want because you think data centers are ugly and don't like computers.
Date: November 4th, 2026 3:09 PM Author: (*)> (i'm in your city)
the question was, "why would anyone be against data centers." i explained why
as to whether data centers are "ugly," for your further understanding, that's not it. they're a symbol of a life / country / future that people don't want
but this aside, to your point about not building "the tech," though it wasn't the original point of this subthread wasteland, as someone in the Valley, I can tell you that the infrastructure bubble (i.e., more specific than "AI" adoption as a whole) is and will slow
Date: November 4th, 2026 3:24 PM Author: gibberish (?)
On less than half a percentage of US land. Do you know how empty the country is? Have you seen middle America and these dead communities? Those are already an eyesore.
So if they build large data centers in Florida then they are done. They can use that to service all the AI they need. This isn't generally a super latency sensitive function.
Date: November 4th, 2026 2:41 PM Author: The Penis
nothing. data center capacity under construction increased like 25% between December 2025 and June 2026. it's a Joke noone is stopping shit. you can have restrictive policies on certain projects and in certain areas and still have massive nationwide expansion. that's another reason I'm not big on heavy regulations, it just makes things more expensive and slower and doesn't stop huge hyperscalers with deep pockets so it stifles competition and smaller players
Right, but there will be places like Florida where even the smaller players can set up shop. There is no reason why you need to build a data center in California or some other place likely to cause problems for you.
Date: November 4th, 2026 2:35 PM Author: frank rizzo
Libs love the idea of AI tech further hollowing out the middle class and bloating the surveillance state as a concept, but the idea of it involving actual humans actually building shit in this country that might benefit someone other than the ultra wealthy & Chinese is a bridge too far
Date: November 4th, 2026 2:41 PM Author: LathamTouchedMe
The fear of job loss is what's driving the anti-AI and data center sentiment. Most of the other stuff ("they're noisy!") is just bs cover that doesn't withstand scrutiny. The GOP has been far more willing to allow AI companies to develop without regulation.
Date: November 4th, 2026 2:53 PM Author: LathamTouchedMe
If we're headed to an awful dystopia because of AI then we should work to limit or regulate as we've done with nukes. "but, but, but CHINA!" isn't an argument.
Date: November 4th, 2026 3:01 PM Author: frank rizzo
China isn't going to "limit or regulate" jack shit. worrying about regulating it is all the more reason to do it here
no one has ever even coherently said what AI even does. fme it's just a possibly better/often wrong google search version and writes long winded obviously fake sounding and often factually incorrect emails. plus the whole making fake nude pics of girls you went to HS with thing
Date: November 4th, 2026 3:03 PM Author: The Penis
just discovered gpt 3? in 2026 ai can engineer complex applications end to end with little human guidance now and solve problems in pure path and physics that human prodigies weren't smart enough to solve
Date: November 4th, 2026 3:35 PM Author: The Penis
Intelligent people can use AI now to solve open problems in pure maths that stumped the greatest human geniuses, and engineer complex software with little human oversight. Not sure how it plays out for people with iqs in the 60s and 70s trying to use it. I'd assume they still might have trouble even getting it to write a decent email.
What AI does? It can basically do 95% of stuff white collar workers do. Write code? It can do that and very quickly. Do legal analysis? Yep. Turn everything you did into a quick status report entry? Absolutely. It can replace rooms full of customer service agents. It can replace rooms full of coders. Yes, there will still be a need for SOME humans but it will be a fraction of what you see now. That said, the idea of "regulating it" seems naive. It just won't work.
this ignores the fact that when services become cheaper, it opens markets for whole new goods that produce new jobs. e.g., when flying became cheaper, tourism became a bigger industry. when cars were invented, new import and export markets opened up, and the newly cheaper goods could be used to produce new goods, etc.
I'm not even sure that will work. AI isn't like nukes even though people keep acting like it is. You can't access nukes through the cloud. Unless everyone on the planet agrees to limit AI and enforce it you're going to see AI continue to be used everywhere relatively unfettered.
Date: November 4th, 2026 3:22 PM Author: LathamTouchedMe
Maybe, maybe not. But we should probably try to do something to either halt or contain AI. The tech oligarchs are offering some shitty feudal-techno state as the best-case scenario and extinction as a possible worst-case scenario.
Date: November 4th, 2026 3:28 PM Author: gibberish (?)
What tangible, not conceptual, things have made you think we should halt AI development? Btw, this really isn't a partisan issue. Lib leadership is on board with the AI solution, they just felt like they weren't getting a cut.
It is more than that. They want to be able to pick the winners and losers which augments their control over everyone. Someone like Elon Musk isn't on board with their agenda? He loses. Someone like Zuckerberg will happily do whatever they tell him to while spying on everyone? Yeah, he wins.
Ok, assume for the sake of argument that you "ban AI advancement." China offers big bucks to AI researchers and developers to move there and continue their work. What do you imagine happens next?
To put things in perspective, which XO posters wouldn't accept millions per year to go and help China build advanced AI?
Yeah, sure. You realize that many American companies love using Chinese LLMs over American ones because they're better, right? Especially in the area of on-prem AI.
Date: November 4th, 2026 3:39 PM Author: The Penis
The only time people use chinese llms is so they can run them locally open source. To me this isn't even worth it because they are all horrible garbage. Even the ones that score reasonably high are just trash somehow.
lol there's no way it's created jobs on balance. and even if it somehow had so far, if you have any understanding of its capabilities (and companies' desire for cheap labor) you'll see how many it will eliminate longer-term
Date: November 4th, 2026 3:47 PM Author: The Penis
agreed. but on the upside there probably aren't any "jobs" that you aren't capable of doing now with ai assistance, and once you get one it is going to amount to checking your phone every few hours to tell your "dot" to give another prompt to codex cloud to orchestrate github, playwright, and aws or whatever. So it could ultimately still end up being 180 in the end.
Date: November 4th, 2026 3:53 PM Author: gibberish (?)
It's definitely created jobs and there are already productivity gains being created. You understand our population is aging. When I say ai I don't mean chatgpt helping you write an email. I'm talking about the robot orderly wiping your ass in a nursing home in 20 years. There won't be cheap labor for that type of thing in the future.
commercially available, not like delivery robots or whatever.
personally? Flock cameras and just the fact that every technology i interact with is harvesting me for data lol. but it's not just about what i've personally experienced. you're not paying attention if you're not seeing how AI surveillance is being used around the world for evil.
Cons in 2028 we are gonna put even more regulation of this shit on the ballot in all 50 states. Voters love to vote against it and it brings people in.
You can ban tranny bathrooms and sharia law for the 6th time I guess