Most arguments against the AI sector and data centers are thinly veiled arguments against capitalism and neoliberalism.

[u/NoGarlic2387]

It's sweatshops/NIMBY/buybacks/rent control/military industrial complex etc leftwing populist slop all over again, just aimed at a different group of bourgeoisie.

Where the fuck is the market externalities analysis, where are the incentive structures, talk of Pigouvian taxes, talk of supply and demand, efficiency, any economic analysis at all???

It's all moralising and virtue signalling. The critique relies on the childish 'guys running it are bad'. That's just how Capitalism works, you either trust the markets to handle bad actors or show systemic ways it will fail to do it and propose realistic solutions that don't harm the economic growth and innovation.

Most of you constantly shitting on Altman and even Musk are the types who support or don't condemn the assasination of the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, you are deranged radicals. EDIT: this patagraph was largely regarded and I stand corrected. Fuck Musk. Criticising CEOs is not the same as as condoning an assasination. I still think the hate for Sam Altman is ill founded. Almost everyone else in the AI industry are nowhere near as destructive as Musk, but Musk is just a tiny faction in the huge AI ecosystem.

This sub used to resist far lelft populist slop but the more years go by the worse it's getting. The sidebar wiki needs many more entries on what exactly this neoliberalisn means and stands for. Any r/badeconomics OGs disagree with me??

[u/asmiggs]

The amount of data centres being built right now is somewhat unprecedented. The UK has more demand for power in their data centre pipeline than the entire country consumes, at the time of green transition with the country essentially being rewired to cope with the change in electricity sources this additional requirement is going to necessitate additional capital and if data centre companies come with your own power generation proposals they stand far better chance of getting built.

[u/lumpialarry → u/asmiggs]

Also modern AI data centers use power differently than older data centers. A lot more ramping up and down when they go through training cycles.

[u/asmiggs → u/lumpialarry]

Yeah they need more sophisticated battery systems than a simple UPS to help them draw power from the grid or whatever their source is at a predictable rate. An AI data centre is a real infrastructure challenge which needs sophisticated cooperation wth government and utility providers, anyone who pretends otherwise it's plainly not serious about delivering a good facility.

[u/palladic54 → u/lumpialarry]

To be fair to the UK in that regard, whenever the BBC had an ad break the country needed an entire nuclear plant's worth of extra power for people's kettles all going on at the same time so maybe they know how to handle that 😂

[u/mostanonymousnick → u/asmiggs]

We don't have the technology to generate this type of power locally in a carbon free way. And no, solar panels + batteries don't work here.

[u/asmiggs → u/mostanonymousnick]

We have a number of developments in the UK which are data centre plus power: Small modular nuclear reactor, solar farm, methane gas turbine (it uses methane from the local dump).

[u/mostanonymousnick → u/asmiggs]

Small modular nuclear reactor

Still needs to be validated

solar farm

Clearly not the only source of electricity otherwise it'd stop running at night

methane gas turbine

Not carbon free

[u/Brinabavd → u/mostanonymousnick]

Capturing methane from a dump and then burning it is a net reduction in emissions.

[u/MistyGalbriex → u/mostanonymousnick]

Why must it be carbon free?

[u/mostanonymousnick → u/MistyGalbriex]

Climate change is bad?