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Fugi
@fugi.tech

I'm not a fan of AI, but I've been struggling to understand the criticisms of AI datacenters. And the extreme polarization of views makes it hard to find articles that don't feel heavily skewed. But it feels like most arguments against datacenters could be solved with better legislation?

Fugi
@fugi.tech

Too much power use? Make datacenters pay a premium on electricity that goes to building more solar/nuclear power Too much water use? Apply regulations/fines on water use that makes evaporative cooling not viable Too much land use / heat generation? Regulate max size / output

0 reposts9 likes

Dix
@dixonij.bsky.social

The problem is they consistently tout low-draw use cases while going well above that and getting sweetheart deals on that water use. Not to mention some of the ones that are "off grid" but have MASSIVE generator banks burning fuel and creating tons of toxic fumes.

Dix
@dixonij.bsky.social

Data center companies can just build paying fines into their bottom line while they wholesale drain resources at a rate nature (so far) has shown it can't compensate for. They also have the lobbying bucks to toss around to get in and help write their own regulations.

Fugi
@fugi.tech

Yeah I don't understand why government would give datacenters preferential rates. IMO the datacenter should pay _more_ than others. And generators should be outright banned. And if the fines aren't working then they should be increased and/or jail time.

Fugi
@fugi.tech

And obviously some places are not fit/equipped for datacenter buildouts and it shouldn't happen there. but idk, "no datacenters anywhere" doesn't seem like a great end-goal. But again this is a very naive take and I wish I understood it better.

TheInnsanity
@theinnsanity.bsky.social

previously, unregulated tech was mostly just causing emotional or financial harm (social media being bad for teens, old people being scammed) but now it's damaging the physical world. The problem is indeed legislation, lobbying, and the people in power being too old.

Spectacles in Blue (Specs)
@spectaclesinblue.bsky.social

Here are better questions you should ask: -Why do they really need so many data centers? Data as a commodity is an industry of collection, and their stochastic time wasters already started eating themselves from running out of the current data supply

Spectacles in Blue (Specs)
@spectaclesinblue.bsky.social

-Where are they building the data centers? I can't speak to correlation/causation, but patterns of strip mine company moving in then abandoning a town, W*lmart moving in then abandoning a town, etc, all seem to rhyme with proposed patterns; not to mention gerrymandering highways through communities

Spectacles in Blue (Specs)
@spectaclesinblue.bsky.social

-Why, if they are so smart, can't they improve their "technology" to not require such facilities to run them? They want to tout that they are akin to the creative power houses of the past, eh? "Better, cheaper, or both," those are your options, and they have not proven their worth

Laury [Insert Spooky Pun]
@caknuckleguy.bsky.social

Because it's not at all being even attempted in any ethical way. Governments and these businesses don't give a flying fuck about regulations, and even when there are the tiniest of suggestions of hints of maybesome? This: Regulations get ignored. Profit comes first. bsky.app/profile/leaf...

Madhusudan 🦉 Katti@leafwarbler.myatproto.social

“officials discovered two industrial-scale water hookups feeding a data center campus located 20 miles south of downtown Atlanta. One water connection had been installed without the utility’s knowledge, and the other was not linked to the company’s account and therefore wasn’t being billed.”

apple.newsA data center drained 30M gallons of water unnoticed — until residents complained about low water pressure — POLITICOResidents in Fayetteville, Georgia, noticed low water pressure last year. The utility discovered two unaccounted-for water connections at one of the nation’s largest data center campuses.
Fugi
@fugi.tech

"Regulations get ignored" then I'd argue the regulations need stricter penalties. Like, what you quoted should result in people going to jail imo. But yes my logic does require governments to care. Which may be optimistic these days.