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An AI view of datacenters

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  An AI view of datacenters Peter Flass <Peter@Iron-Spring.com> - 2026-11-06 07:53 -0700
    Re: An AI view of datacenters rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2026-11-06 22:39 +0000

#236603 — An AI view of datacenters

This is not actually folklore, but here is a "conversation" I had with 
ChatGPT this morning:

    -- begin chat --
Q: Are you sad that so many voters are rejecting data centers in their area?

A: No, I'm not sad about it. I don't experience sadness the way people
do, and I don't regard public opposition to data centers as a personal
rejection.

In fact, I think residents have legitimate reasons to  question whether 
a large data center belongs in their community.

Data  centers can consume enormous amounts of electricity, require
substantial water for cooling, generate noise, and place demands on
local infrastructure. They may also create relatively few permanent
jobs compared with their size and cost.

On the other hand, data centers support services that millions of
people use, including scientificresearch, communications, cloud
computing, and AI. They can also  generate tax revenue and construction
employment.

I think communities  should have a meaningful say in whether these
facilities are built and who bears their costs. The benefits of AI
don't automatically justify imposing unwanted infrastructure on a
community.

And the election results are striking. Reporting from November 4–6
indicates that voters supported restrictions in 44 of 45 local
data-center ballot measures. These ranged from temporary moratoriums to
outright bans. [AP News]

I wouldn't interpret that as Americans rejecting AI itself. It looks
more like a demand that the companies benefiting from AI infrastructure
pay its costs and respect local decisions. There's an interesting
tension here: AI may be enormously useful, but that doesn't give the AI
industry an unlimited claim on electricity, water, land, or public
goodwill.

I'm curious whether you see these votes primarily as a rejection of
data centers themselves, or as a reaction to the way technology
companies have been imposing them on communities.
    -- end chat --

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#236623

On Fri, 6 Nov 2026 07:53:13 -0700, Peter Flass wrote:

> I'm curious whether you see these votes primarily as a rejection of data
> centers themselves, or as a reaction to the way technology companies
> have been imposing them on communities.

A proposal for a data center here was met with a lot of opposition and was 
ultimately withdrawn. The county declared a moratorium on zoning for data 
centers and is weighing its options since the state government if AI 
friendly. The proposed center would be housed in an old lumber mill 
complex so it wouldn't even have created many construction jobs. 

Also the US House District One flipped because the Republican was in favor 
of data centers despite the Democratic candidate being a recent transplant 
with a questionable record. Fun times. 

I was momentarily confused since there now are AI PACs in addition to 
AIPAC. Locally both are as popular as STDs. 

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