3 ms·

I don't think the average person actually knows anything concrete about them. They're a proxy for peoples' sense of powerlessness about what's going on around

by rconti 3mo ago

I don't think the average person actually knows anything concrete about them. They're a proxy for peoples' sense of powerlessness about what's going on around them. Skyrocketing electricity prices, the sense that elected officials aren't looking out for their interests, job losses, etc. They're a convenient proxy for many disparate concerns because they represent all of those things in one way or another.

srmatto 3mo ago
I think there's truth to what you're saying but I also think there's truth to what people are experiencing and perceiving. A highly power and/or water consumptive data center being installed in a town or city is pretty much a perfect embodiment of people's frustrations. It consumes tons of power and/or water and therefore drives up utility costs for the locals or pollutes the air with diesel exhaust. And it doesn't create jobs so it's just frankly some rich cabal of capitalists getting richer while people's lives continue to feel materially worse. I can't think of a better embodiment of the sort of confluence of crumminess that seems to be underway.
- econ 3mo ago
  https://www.tumblr.com/geneseelibby/35053843499/a-horrible-monster-july-19-1880-the-standard https://www.tumblr.com/geneseelibby/35053843499/a-horrible-m...
  - bjustin 3mo ago
    Amazingly, they managed to _undersell_ the ill effects that the oil industry would have on even just the US, such as the oil-driven military actions we've taken over the years.
    - illliillll 3mo ago
      [flagged]
- bjustin 3mo ago
  I've heard talk from some folks telling these people that their concerns about data center water use, power, noise etc. are overblown. Water companies disagree, saying data center water usage in fact is quite significant. Oops. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jul/21/not-enough-water-for-uks-datacentre-plans-trade-body-says https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jul/21/not-enou...
  - scarmig 3mo ago
    > In May, a House of Lords report said England faced a 5bn litre a day shortfall for public water supplies by 2055. > Water UK estimated that datacentres in England use 6.6m litres of drinking water every day. > England’s current water shortfall is 220m litres more a day than was assumed in water forecasts.
  - yellowapple 3mo ago
    The UK is surrounded by a planet-spanning body of water. It has no excuse to be complaining about water shortages even if every square inch of it was a single giant datacenter.
    - pseudalopex 3mo ago
      Removing salt from ocean water is costly.
      - yellowapple 3mo ago
        The UK can surely afford it. If not, then surely they can require the datacenters themselves to foot the bill.
98codes 3mo ago
> I don't think the average person actually knows anything concrete about them. The average person around them knows quite a bit about the noise level, and how far it carries. They're starting to learn about the effect consistent noise at that level has on their mental & physical well-being as well.
- TitaRusell 3mo ago
  The Pittsburgh steel mills provided jobs and a sense of purpose to communities. Something that tech bros fundamentally oppose.
- Rebelgecko 3mo ago
  Town by me had a huge outcry about a proposed data center and how it would ruin the area. Funnily enough there's already data centers on the same street!
  - samrus 3mo ago
    Thats what the parent comment said. Older data centers are built more consciously of the surrounding, but these newer ones are being built with no regard for the community and are egregious. For example using on site generators that make alot more noise than the existing on grid datacenters You gotta read the comment
    - Rebelgecko 3mo ago
      This new data center was air-cooled and would use the same grid as existing ones, so I found it funny that the complaints people made about it were either inaccurate or applied just as well to the existing DCs in the area
- AnthonyMouse 3mo ago
  > The average person around them knows quite a bit about the noise level, and how far it carries. Do they? How much noise do you imagine comes from a data center that isn't operating a gas turbine?
duped 3mo ago
> I don't think the average person actually knows anything concrete about them. A new class of oligarchs are trying to obsolete every profession and human endeavor for the sole purpose of enriching themselves. You don't need a PhD in environmental policy or domain expertise in construction to listen to what AI advocates are saying and realize their success comes at the expense of society, and say "no thank you." Data center construction is not a proxy for powerlessness, but the vanguard of the powerful.
doron 3mo ago
I think AOC made this point easy to understand in a recent hearing.. "ask ... if they [Zuckerberg, Thiel etc] want one of these data centers in their own backyard"
- deleted 3mo ago
  [deleted]
know-how 3mo ago
[dead]

by rconti 3mo ago

srmatto 3mo ago

I think there's truth to what you're saying but I also think there's truth to what people are experiencing and perceiving. A highly power and/or water consumptive data center being installed in a town or city is pretty much a perfect embodiment of people's frustrations. It consumes tons of power and/or water and therefore drives up utility costs for the locals or pollutes the air with diesel exhaust. And it doesn't create jobs so it's just frankly some rich cabal of capitalists getting richer while people's lives continue to feel materially worse. I can't think of a better embodiment of the sort of confluence of crumminess that seems to be underway.

econ 3mo ago
https://www.tumblr.com/geneseelibby/35053843499/a-horrible-monster-july-19-1880-the-standard https://www.tumblr.com/geneseelibby/35053843499/a-horrible-m...
- bjustin 3mo ago
  Amazingly, they managed to _undersell_ the ill effects that the oil industry would have on even just the US, such as the oil-driven military actions we've taken over the years.
  - illliillll 3mo ago
    [flagged]
bjustin 3mo ago
I've heard talk from some folks telling these people that their concerns about data center water use, power, noise etc. are overblown. Water companies disagree, saying data center water usage in fact is quite significant. Oops. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jul/21/not-enough-water-for-uks-datacentre-plans-trade-body-says https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jul/21/not-enou...
- scarmig 3mo ago
  > In May, a House of Lords report said England faced a 5bn litre a day shortfall for public water supplies by 2055. > Water UK estimated that datacentres in England use 6.6m litres of drinking water every day. > England’s current water shortfall is 220m litres more a day than was assumed in water forecasts.
- yellowapple 3mo ago
  The UK is surrounded by a planet-spanning body of water. It has no excuse to be complaining about water shortages even if every square inch of it was a single giant datacenter.
  - pseudalopex 3mo ago
    Removing salt from ocean water is costly.
    - yellowapple 3mo ago
      The UK can surely afford it. If not, then surely they can require the datacenters themselves to foot the bill.

98codes 3mo ago

> I don't think the average person actually knows anything concrete about them. The average person around them knows quite a bit about the noise level, and how far it carries. They're starting to learn about the effect consistent noise at that level has on their mental & physical well-being as well.

TitaRusell 3mo ago
The Pittsburgh steel mills provided jobs and a sense of purpose to communities. Something that tech bros fundamentally oppose.
Rebelgecko 3mo ago
Town by me had a huge outcry about a proposed data center and how it would ruin the area. Funnily enough there's already data centers on the same street!
- samrus 3mo ago
  Thats what the parent comment said. Older data centers are built more consciously of the surrounding, but these newer ones are being built with no regard for the community and are egregious. For example using on site generators that make alot more noise than the existing on grid datacenters You gotta read the comment
  - Rebelgecko 3mo ago
    This new data center was air-cooled and would use the same grid as existing ones, so I found it funny that the complaints people made about it were either inaccurate or applied just as well to the existing DCs in the area
AnthonyMouse 3mo ago
> The average person around them knows quite a bit about the noise level, and how far it carries. Do they? How much noise do you imagine comes from a data center that isn't operating a gas turbine?

duped 3mo ago

> I don't think the average person actually knows anything concrete about them. A new class of oligarchs are trying to obsolete every profession and human endeavor for the sole purpose of enriching themselves. You don't need a PhD in environmental policy or domain expertise in construction to listen to what AI advocates are saying and realize their success comes at the expense of society, and say "no thank you." Data center construction is not a proxy for powerlessness, but the vanguard of the powerful.

doron 3mo ago

I think AOC made this point easy to understand in a recent hearing.. "ask ... if they [Zuckerberg, Thiel etc] want one of these data centers in their own backyard"

deleted 3mo ago
[deleted]

know-how 3mo ago

[dead]