I think it's a natural reaction to the "our AI systems are really dangerous and might kill you all and will definitely take your jobs" messages that have been coming out of the AI labs for the past few years.

They've dialed them back a bit now, but way too late. That message has sunk in.

Campaigning to prevent data centers from being built is the most actionable thing a US citizen can do, because it's a local issue (and hence something they can influence), plus they can use arguments about noise and power prices and water pollution to help make the case.

(I think most of those arguments don't stand up to scrutiny - as light industry goes data centers are pretty minor, would you prefer a concrete plant in your back yard? But I don't think the arguments are the point for a lot of people. It's about having a way to oppose AI generally.)

I don't see why I shouldn't be against them. It doesn't benefit me in any way, it just increases my electricity costs. Nor am I sure there is even a market for the majority of proposed data center builds, if this exponential growth/need for computing power doesn't hold we will be flushing money down the toilet, and largely on the public's dime since most of it is funded by loans and debt. Even if LLMs achieve all that is promised and more, that just means more people out of work sooner and the already powerful and wealthy gain more power and wealth than anybody else.

I have no doubt there's foreign bot armies amplifying these things, but foreign bot armies understand they're most effective when the amplify real sentiments.

And the anti-data center stuff is a very, very real sentiment.

i work in AI and i think we should hit the brakes: get a better oversight mechanism in place, help local municipalities get more in exchange for building them (no more tax incentives, NDAs, high emissions power sources), those are good places to start.

rushing ahead with the 'it might destroy us but we've gotta beat China!' is silly bullshit.

And the debt financing needs to stop.

There's a sensible path forward that doesn't involve a full stop, nor maintains the previous trajectory.

My electricity bill is 50% higher than this same month 1 year ago. My friends and neighbors in my city have said that they also have greatly increased electricity bills. Whether or not that increase is due to a specific data center, it's extremely easy to blame it on the increased electricity usage of data centers, no foreign propaganda required.

My neighbors take issue with people getting the wrong roof on their house. Not surprised people being against a data center nearby.

Why...? Or is this just a sarcastic way of saying you disagree with the movement?

> I'm convinced the anti data center movement is foreign propaganda

Exactly! No rational person could oppose supergeniuses like Elon Musk, Sam Altman, Marc Andreessen, etc., so if people do, the logical conclusion is that they've been manipulated by a psyop.

Science is my superpower!

I know actual people who are deeply opposed to AI (well, the current AI tech anyway), for what seem to them to be good moral reasons.

I find the attitude a bit weird and very left-wing purity-spiral stuff, but it is a real attitude that real people have.

it is woke mind virus propagated via 5g towers and vaccines