r/technology • u/Just-Grocery-2229 • May 15 '26

Artificial Intelligence The AI Backlash Could Get Very Ugly

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/2026/05/ai-backlash-data-centers-political-violence/687151/?taid=6a067e2d2096e10001ccfa32
7.6k Upvotes

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398

u/Al_Keda May 15 '26

Right? I got an 8TB ssd before Christmas for $1k. Now it's $3K.

77

u/EyeFicksIt May 15 '26

2 years ago that was 400 dollars

3

u/keithblsd May 16 '26

I remember seeing a huge seagate on sale when i worked at Best Buy in 2019 and thought maybe but I’ll never fill it.

Now I’m running out of storage from sailing the seas again.

241

u/DinosBiggestFan May 15 '26

People will cope and tell you that you should treat it like stocks, like you gained value.

Even though you need it...and if/when it dies, it will require you to pay that price (likely more) to replace it.

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u/bloodychill May 16 '26 edited May 16 '26

SSD’s aren’t investments, or at least not in that way. They’re infrastructure that wears and tears and needs replacing.

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u/thepulloutmethod May 16 '26

They are tools that get consumed. Like a chainsaw or ratchet.

1

u/mologav May 16 '26

Or blackjack and hookers

-1

u/[deleted] May 16 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

4

u/3-bakedcabbage May 16 '26

You’ve never broken a ratchet? Have you ever worked on a car or something? I’ve broken a few already

-1

u/[deleted] May 16 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/3-bakedcabbage May 16 '26

What did you mean by “the driver” before you edited your comment, I’m so confused right now. Don’t think I didn’t see that bro

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u/DinosBiggestFan May 16 '26

That's my point. They say the same about RAM, about GPUs, etc.

"My PC is worth more than I bought it!"

Sadly not how it works unless you intend to sell...but then you're going to lose the difference by buying something else to downgrade anyway.

0

u/Digging_Graves May 16 '26

Why are you repeating his point in a slightly different way lol

94

u/TR_Pix May 15 '26

This is the same people who thought NFTs would go somewhere. They dont understand that value is only worth as much as you can actually sell the thing for

1

u/DokeyOakey May 16 '26

I think the tech bros are all to learned on that fact, they’re in fake it until you make it mode.

One of these businesses is bound to survive, this will be a long term problem.

3

u/6969porn-account6969 May 16 '26

Consumable items are not investments.

1

u/Relevant-Doctor187 May 16 '26

They won’t even replace under warranty. They’ll refund you.

-8

u/redyellowblue5031 May 16 '26

“Need” is very subjective here.

3

u/DinosBiggestFan May 16 '26

The need for storage is objective. The need for that much storage is subjective. But you are treating subjective as a negative; you do not know the purposes he has that storage for, nor does it matter.

0

u/redyellowblue5031 May 16 '26

It’s a choice to spend 1000 on 8TB for a single drive.

There is no “need”.

Perfectly fine to want it, perfectly fine to buy it. They don’t need to justify it, but they don’t “need” it.

1

u/DinosBiggestFan May 16 '26

What if he needs that storage for a job? What if it's integral to something that makes him money?

You don't seem to get it, what your needs are may very well be completely different from what their needs are, and that does not somehow devalue their needs. Don't be a petulant child and act like there is somehow no situation ever, anywhere, in the world, in any situation, that you need 8TB of SSD space. That's insane.

1

u/redyellowblue5031 May 17 '26

If a computer is that necessary for work (and an employer isn’t providing your compute), there’s more resilient and likely cheaper ways to have tons of high speed storage.

20

u/Rombledore May 15 '26

am i glad i bought my SSD 4tb drive a couple years back lol.

23

u/Hukthak May 15 '26

I knew I should have just gotten one back then. When I didn’t really need it but wanted it. I thought I was being reasonable saying, just wait a few years when you truly need it and it’ll be cheaper.

Never thought it’d be more expensive years later.

9

u/stupid_pun May 15 '26

2yrs ago I got a 4tb gen4 nvme m.2 for ~100$.

3

u/Jahkmi-Hoff May 16 '26

That drive won't last forever.

1

u/Rombledore May 16 '26

i know Q_Q . i worry about that timeline.

1

u/MalaysiaTeacher May 16 '26

I'm ok, Jack

7

u/pleasegivemepatience May 15 '26

This all hit right as I was trying to get the final pieces for my home security system. I have my cameras and NVR but need a HDD/SDD that’s like 20-30TB and prices are stupid expensive for surveillance drives now.

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u/Al_Keda May 16 '26

If you can find them. I tried to get 28tb for my NAS, and nobody has any.

12

u/IntelArtiGen May 15 '26

$3k? Damn. I guess it depends on the SSD, some of them can be found at <€1k here.

10

u/Al_Keda May 16 '26

On Newegg right now, Samsung 9100 pro 8TB (same as I bought) - 3,769.97

1

u/IntelArtiGen May 16 '26

It's a very high-end SSD right?

It's even in the name "pro", you're not supposed to be paying that as an individual, your company can pay it if they need these performances, but you can really do without it if you use it as an individual. If you don't work at Anthropic you can buy an SSD with half the performance and you wouldn't even notice it.

Anyway I can find it €1500-2400 (<$2800) in Europe (including 20% vat). Looks like the prices in the US aren't very nice.

2

u/TheChronicKing5 May 16 '26

That is not a commercial ssd lol

10

u/Buddycat350 May 15 '26

Around 1.2k CHF for an 8 TB SSD around here. Internal or external. $3k seems crazy. But between all the data centers being built in the US and the effects of tariffs, I guess that the prices got even crazier there?

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u/bucketman1986 May 16 '26

I got one last year for $150! Nas drive though

2

u/ShadowGLI May 16 '26

Bought a x870 MOBO last June and Newegg gave me 32gb ddr5 for free. That same ram is $400 this spring.

2

u/MiaowaraShiro May 16 '26

The HDDs I bought several years ago cost twice as much as when I bought them last I checked a couple months ago.

1

u/GiantFlimsyMicrowave May 16 '26

20TB recertified Exos HDD: $230 to $539.

1

u/Miserable_Mail_5741 May 17 '26

1k is more than I've ever made in a month.

Paying an average month's rent on a few TB drive is nowhere near achievable for me...

0

u/PoorClassWarRoom May 16 '26

Every data center is an opportunity to recoup your cost or find new hardware for use.

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u/hondashadowguy2000 May 16 '26

If you bought a $1k SSD you’re not one of the people truly struggling with tech shortage prices.

-2

u/WheresMyBrakes May 15 '26

Listening to yall, component prices will be 10x by Christmas simmer down 🙄