The fight against AI datacenters is important – but it’s just a starting point

Bruce Schneier and Nathan E Sanders,  Security Technologist, Harvard University | Data Scientist, Harvard University  -  The Guardian (U.K.)Stephan: Data centers consume enormous amounts of electricity and water, and can dramatically affect the wellbeing of nearby communities. But they have another, little discussed, let alone regulated effect: they have become a major factor in the transition of the culture of the United States into a neo-medieval society controlled a small group of largely White-boy techno-billionaires. ‘For some, data center opposition may feel like the only tangible mechanism for registering their concern, disapproval, or even anger about AI.’ Credit: Jenny Kane / AP Opposition to AI datacenters has emerged as a primary theme in US politics, one that – surprisingly – doesn’t fall along party lines. We applaud people coming together for constructive debate on any issue, and agree that communities need to evaluate whether any economic benefits these datacenters bring is worth their costs. Still, we worry that a focus on datacenters obscures the larger impacts of AI on people’s lives: the concentration of power of AI companies, and their widespread political and financial influence. Local datacenter opposition is grounded in legitimate concerns about misallocation of land resources when housing is at a premium, pressures on already higher energy prices, and localized environmental impact. Unlike other resource-consuming and polluting industrial facilities, datacenters produce very few jobs. The fact that US opposition to datacenters seems to be most fierce among lower-income communities reflects righteous indignation with an inequitable bargain, where tech companies and developers profit from exploiting local resources but offer little in return. On a global scale, their carbon footprint could [...]Read the Full Article »