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 stealing 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 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.
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 even if it were just comparable to city noise, many people that 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.
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.
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.
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.