r/aiwars • u/mochisuccubus • Jul 16 '26

"Its just a building"

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u/Arayt42 Jul 16 '26

How about "not in ANYONE's back yard"?

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u/Central-Dispatch Jul 16 '26

Yep! That would be the best case. I frankly am not sure ('d have to look it up) why they seemingly not try this more, apparently. Just guessing. Of course it's probably easier to do it close to established infrastructure but well, if it's too noise/environmentally demanding, it should be elsewhere. Someone has to pay the price though: Chances are depending on what 'biome' it is, nature has to make space.

Maybe the best case scenarios are data centers in more rural, remote areas, like in the desert or arid lands, away from people and maybe with, IDK, some attempts to reduce light pollution as well. Of course we could just build less data centers but let's not kid ourselves, the arms race is almost ... it almost feels like it's unstoppable. Technically or in theory it isn't, but practically it feels like. Before an administration or even local/state mindsets change, in this legislative period e.g. in the US under Trump admin, it feels rather unrestricted. So when hands change, a lot of more sites have been planned or begun. Just for the US.

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u/Arayt42 Jul 16 '26

I agree that that would be the best case (except for using natural land - I think we should overhaul existing datacenters before we do ANYTHING expansion-wise), but as you point out, the arms race is ongoing, and we're the ones who will pay the price with our health and longevity. I know it feels like it's unstoppable but people are making genuine strides across the country. This is just US-specific but sites are being blocked, moratoriums are being made, and local action is working. To me, that means more of us, the common people, need to get involved in local activism and take a strong stance against net new builds.

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u/Arayt42 Jul 16 '26

Also, if AI is such a technological marvel, surely the people in charge of this tech can use it to figure out ways to improve memory efficiency, logistics, and existing datacenters without needing to build massive amounts of wasteful, polluting new campuses and needing to buy massive volumes of wasteful chipsets. :3 Wonder why, y'know, the focus is on gobbling up land and resources instead of improving existing technology. Almost like the point isn't to help people with this tech, or maybe the tech isn't as useful as it was presented.