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I think the hatred towards the data centers stems from the anger and frustration that has been caused by the white collar job replacement done by AI. We have a

I think the hatred towards the data centers stems from the anger and frustration that has been caused by the white collar job replacement done by AI. We have an entire generation of young people that went to college and got a degree hoping that they would be able to get a good job and live a comfortable life. However, that's not the case anymore and the fact that almost all entry level jobs are replaced by AI has created this sentiment among people that somehow AI is evil. The problem is not that AI is evil, but most of the people would have to learn new skills and adapt because the profession or job they trained at college doesn't exists anymore. Data Centers have existed way before mainstream AI. Everyone would binge watch the latest season of popular shows of Netflix and won't even bat an eye thinking how much water that has wasted.

milkshakes 1mo ago
> The problem is not that AI is evil, but most of the people would have to learn new skills and adapt because the profession or job they trained at college doesn't exists anymore. isn't the problem then capitalism? the promise of AI is to deliver efficiencies, leverage, and consequent surplus. AI does not itself allocate the surplus.
- sajithdilshan 1mo ago
  > isn't the problem then capitalism? Nope, capitalism is not perfect, but it has lifted billions of people out of poverty and elevated their living standards. The hatred towards capitalism is as irrational as the hatred towards data centers. If you really want to find something to hate and blame all your problems, then blame it on corruption and incompetent politicians.
  - milkshakes 1mo ago
    i'm not blaming all problems here, i'm blaming the allocation of surplus. it does seem at least at surface level that this is driven by capitalism?
    - sajithdilshan 1mo ago
      what surplus are you talking about? do you expect free wealth handout to people? that's not how capitalism works. You don't get rewarded for doing/contributing nothing. Capitalism provides you the opportunity to work and build something without being limited by the state or authority.
hackeraccount 1mo ago
What you're saying is exactly the question isn't it? I've seen polling on opposition to data centers and "I hate AI" isn't a majority reason. It's more like 15%. The reasons people give are higher electric bills, water shortages, and environmental damage. I think that those reasons are spurious but I also think that for some issues facts don't make much difference. People will have opinions about things that are totally at odds with facts.

milkshakes 1mo ago

> The problem is not that AI is evil, but most of the people would have to learn new skills and adapt because the profession or job they trained at college doesn't exists anymore. isn't the problem then capitalism? the promise of AI is to deliver efficiencies, leverage, and consequent surplus. AI does not itself allocate the surplus.

sajithdilshan 1mo ago
> isn't the problem then capitalism? Nope, capitalism is not perfect, but it has lifted billions of people out of poverty and elevated their living standards. The hatred towards capitalism is as irrational as the hatred towards data centers. If you really want to find something to hate and blame all your problems, then blame it on corruption and incompetent politicians.
- milkshakes 1mo ago
  i'm not blaming all problems here, i'm blaming the allocation of surplus. it does seem at least at surface level that this is driven by capitalism?
  - sajithdilshan 1mo ago
    what surplus are you talking about? do you expect free wealth handout to people? that's not how capitalism works. You don't get rewarded for doing/contributing nothing. Capitalism provides you the opportunity to work and build something without being limited by the state or authority.

hackeraccount 1mo ago

What you're saying is exactly the question isn't it? I've seen polling on opposition to data centers and "I hate AI" isn't a majority reason. It's more like 15%. The reasons people give are higher electric bills, water shortages, and environmental damage. I think that those reasons are spurious but I also think that for some issues facts don't make much difference. People will have opinions about things that are totally at odds with facts.