My chat with Jasmine Sun about what role data centers could play in the midterms, how the backlash caught Silicon Valley by surprise — and why Claude can be so weird.
With all due respect to Nate and Jasmine I think they are overthinking why people hate data centers - it’s a fairly direct answer. People hate data centers because they are a tangible manifestation of a technology that is expected to take away their jobs and lifestyle, mess with their societal place and sense of self, and uglify their neighborhoods and the matural world, all while providing no tangible benefit to the regular person and the tantalizing prospects of all the weird elites they hate the most becoming brains in a jar who lord over them forever.
A 10 day visit is better than the usual in-and-out visit by coastal types but it really isn't enough. You should talk to fellow sub stacker Robert Bryce about the dataset he's built on data center fights.
I've heard of noise issues with data centers but I often don't see them addressed. Are those concerns overblown too? I could well imagine a constant noise issue driving me bananas and making me think my home is now worthless.
Acoustics are hard. There are a lot of noise sources.
Fans and transformer hum, and even just AC in the power lines.
Distance helps, but low frequency noise can vibrate the ground and resonate further away than is obvious.
And of course there is just random atmospheric effects. Sounds travel differently in different weather conditions, as anyone who lives a mile or two from a open roof stadium or amphitheatre knows.
A major issue is that the kind of noise data centers make is at a volume and frequency (pitch) that is not regulated by existing laws.
One aspect I think you missed, at least in my area of Northeastern PA. Before the data center boom, there was a warehouse boom. The argument in favor of warehouses was the same one being used for data centers now: it will infuse the area with jobs and tax revenue. However, we have seen that, with warehouses, the cons can outnumber the pros. They're ugly monstrosities that eat up farmland and create a ton of truck traffic. The trucks clog and beat up the roads and can lead to terrible, fatal accidents. People here had already had enough with warehouses, to the point that some areas already had moratoriums on them. Then, data centers — which honestly LOOK A LOT LIKE WAREHOUSES — started trying to come into the area with the promise of jobs and revenue. People here were like: Nope. Seen this before, and we're not having it.
The Ai Data Centers from those pictures do indeed look ugly, but they appear to be just like large flat factories or distribution centers. An Amazon warehouse looks just as ugly, as does a UPS distribution center, as does an auto parts factory. It’s just modern big flat building industrial design.
Also, the Boston University one looked kinda sci fi cool.
With all due respect to Nate and Jasmine I think they are overthinking why people hate data centers - it’s a fairly direct answer. People hate data centers because they are a tangible manifestation of a technology that is expected to take away their jobs and lifestyle, mess with their societal place and sense of self, and uglify their neighborhoods and the matural world, all while providing no tangible benefit to the regular person and the tantalizing prospects of all the weird elites they hate the most becoming brains in a jar who lord over them forever.
I suppose the irony is obvious in using a Cloud based publishing and comment system to claim data centers have no benefit?
A 10 day visit is better than the usual in-and-out visit by coastal types but it really isn't enough. You should talk to fellow sub stacker Robert Bryce about the dataset he's built on data center fights.
One point is that data centers are not providing a significant fraction of their benefits to the regions where they are built
Sure there are some jobs, but the billions of dollars of revenue that justify the expense comes from businesses and end customers who live elsewhere.
Data centers are essentially an extractive business model. Use a bunch of land, make a bunch of noise and heat, and generate the profit far away.
Similar in many ways to oil wells and mines, at least from the perspective of the people who live near the extraction end of the business.
I've heard of noise issues with data centers but I often don't see them addressed. Are those concerns overblown too? I could well imagine a constant noise issue driving me bananas and making me think my home is now worthless.
Acoustics are hard. There are a lot of noise sources.
Fans and transformer hum, and even just AC in the power lines.
Distance helps, but low frequency noise can vibrate the ground and resonate further away than is obvious.
And of course there is just random atmospheric effects. Sounds travel differently in different weather conditions, as anyone who lives a mile or two from a open roof stadium or amphitheatre knows.
A major issue is that the kind of noise data centers make is at a volume and frequency (pitch) that is not regulated by existing laws.
This definitely needs to be addressed.
One aspect I think you missed, at least in my area of Northeastern PA. Before the data center boom, there was a warehouse boom. The argument in favor of warehouses was the same one being used for data centers now: it will infuse the area with jobs and tax revenue. However, we have seen that, with warehouses, the cons can outnumber the pros. They're ugly monstrosities that eat up farmland and create a ton of truck traffic. The trucks clog and beat up the roads and can lead to terrible, fatal accidents. People here had already had enough with warehouses, to the point that some areas already had moratoriums on them. Then, data centers — which honestly LOOK A LOT LIKE WAREHOUSES — started trying to come into the area with the promise of jobs and revenue. People here were like: Nope. Seen this before, and we're not having it.
The Ai Data Centers from those pictures do indeed look ugly, but they appear to be just like large flat factories or distribution centers. An Amazon warehouse looks just as ugly, as does a UPS distribution center, as does an auto parts factory. It’s just modern big flat building industrial design.
Also, the Boston University one looked kinda sci fi cool.