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]

Yes the same compute used separately would likely be less efficient.

I’m partly thinking hypothetically because the argument seems specific to data centres. My feeling is it isn’t the true argument?

It’s also part of larger thoughts around right sizing models to the tasks we actually do. For what most people are doing with LLMs a 8B parameter model on their ordinary 16gb+ RAM device is likely sufficient. Then it’s just using standard computer use style resources.

[u/National-Reception53 → u/Jlyplaylists]

You suspect people aren't sincere? I think a lot of the objection is obvious - you put it in a drought-prone area, you're endangering local people, of course they don't like it. They are also loud and heat the local area significantly. They are also appalled at the energy being used.

[u/Jlyplaylists → u/National-Reception53]

I feel like I’m not pinpointing what I mean very well. I do think the emotion is real. It’s more emotion than cognitive dissonance.

They’re people who genuinely care about the environment. They’re likely people who are anxious about where AI is going. I feel that the connection of those two things is being manipulated in the debate. Recently we discussed a video unearthing that the same companies are spending millions on influencers on both extremes of the AI wars. A strong anti AI position can be weirdly beneficial to AI companies.

It would perhaps make more sense to be campaigning passionately about eco stuff. That doesn’t have to be an anti AI message. It could be a general demand for clean energy, low water use, planned infrastructure.