So, there’s a piece in Jacobin arguing that data center moratoria are a “terrible idea” making the rounds on social media and beyond. It’s pretty easy to see why this makes for some good discourse; naturally, there’s going to be frisson among AI optimists when a perceived opponent—here, the nation’s most influential socialist magazine—makes a case for aligning with the tech industry’s goals.
While I’m pretty unconvinced on all but one or two of the points that the piece itself raises, and I think it seriously misconstrues the class politics of data center fights, I do think it’s worth litigating this idea. Because I do believe we should be thinking about what a broader and more engaged politics of resisting, regulating, and ultimately governing AI might look like. It’s a good occasion, in other words, to ask:
- Who is fighting data centers?
- Why are they fighting them?
- Are anti-data center movements a dead end—or a starting point?
They tend to have a massive amount of cooling units on top, which does create a lot of noise. There are also instances of the companies using portable diesel and even turbine generators to power their data centers, which has got to be infuriating to live near.
From that linked article.
Hundreds of feet!
They aren’t building these 50 feet from residential properties. I don’t think this is an actual issue.