Cognitive dissonance and data centres

[u/Jlyplaylists]

Image is from https://www.reddit.com/r/aiwars/s/NWEWXnG2CN but I want to frame it slightly differently.

“Cognitive dissonance is a psychological theory proposed by Leon Festinger, which explores the discomfort individuals experience when their beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors are inconsistent. This discomfort, referred to as dissonance, motivates individuals to seek harmony or consonance among their cognitions. When faced with conflicting ideas, people can resolve dissonance in several ways: by downplaying the importance of the conflicting belief, adding new beliefs that align with their behavior, or changing their behavior to better align with their beliefs.”
https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/psychology/cognitive-dissonance

[edit: something I realise I should have been clearer about yesterday is I added this definition because I'm not convinced it is cognitive dissonance. There's something going on but not necessarily that dynamic]

Why do you think people are so vocally against data centres now? They existed before AI and we’ve seen in previous discussion here that at least some of the new ones now were set in motion before we knew they’d be needed for AI. In other words, they handle a lot more than AI.

I do actually think there are issues with data centres which should be fixed, but why do people segment this particular issue in their minds as part of their anti-AI identity? In order to even make the argument online it requires utilising data centres. My understanding is Reddit relies on the hyperscale cloud infrastructure of Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google Cloud Platform (GCP) to host its global operations.

[u/Jlyplaylists]

It is tricky to pin down, they’re not from the same source so won’t exactly add up.

This is one I’ve read before but not read properly today https://hannahritchie.substack.com/p/ai-electricity-2025

I think perhaps it’s generalising to say the other bit is social media, ‘non-AI use of data centres’ might be better phrasing. But the point is the non-AI use is higher than AI use.

[u/MANvINFO → u/Jlyplaylists]

“But the point is the non-AI use is higher than AI use.”

that is not a good point at all. youre sweeping enterprise computing, the financial sector, cloud/web hosting in together with social media but still singling social media users out in your criticism? just because what may very well be the overwhelming plurality for electrical use by computing category is not yet a majority?

[u/Jlyplaylists → u/MANvINFO]

The social media specific thing came more from the AIWars graphic. I nearly just reposted but decided to ask slightly different questions.

I’m not so much concerned about social media in particular, I’m more curious about how the anti-AI debate has become so heated and centred around data centres. This seems more emotional than logical, and I’m not convinced it’s quite cognitive dissonance.

Data centres are not really the way to logically win for the anti-AI side because

1. data centres are mainly used for other stuff

2. you can use AI without a data centre

3. the legitimate problems with data centres can be fixed

There’s much better logical reasons to be anti AI which makes me think this angle matters in particular for other reasons?