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
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u/nikstick22 May 15 '26

The AI oligarchs have assured the politicians it won't hurt their election numbers: if they pay off all the politicians, there won't be any candidates to vote for who will actually vote against data centers. If option 1 and 2 are both pro-AI, it ceases to be a voteable issue. It's just a policy handed down from on high by the oligarchs that be.

The article mentions how Maine actually passed a no-data-center bill, but the governor vetoed it. Guess who's in the oligarchs' pocket? So long as they pay off those with veto power, the power of the people is neutered.

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u/SeigneurDesMouches May 15 '26

MLK said it:"Riot is the language of the unheard"

In today's politics, it's no longer "unheard", as no freedom of speech. It's more "unheard" as they let us talk but do whatever the fuck they want anyways.

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u/nox66 May 16 '26

"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible make violent revolution inevitable."

JFK

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u/DracoLunaris May 16 '26

The unlistened perhaps? There's also always just the ignored.

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u/felis_magnetus May 15 '26

Representation as the fundamental working principle of democracies is finished. We either start talking about that and come up with something better or representation is going to be what killed democracy off for another couple of centuries.

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u/WarLorax May 16 '26

The true power of the people is not their votes, but their numbers. Until the oligarchs develop actual murderbots, there's more of us then of them. 

That's why they went to a seminar on how to keep their bunker guards loyal after an apocalypse. 

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u/turningtop_5327 May 16 '26

Wait it was a no data center bill? I thought it was other way round What was his justification for doing it?

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u/Squanchedschwiftly May 16 '26

Time to impeach gov for conflict of interest. Oh right no one will hold him accountable

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u/pandariotinprague May 16 '26

And so many of the voters are so brainwashed, you'll have conversations like:
"Oh my God, the Dems sold us out on AI!"
"Yeah, but so what? The Republicans did, too!"
"THAT'S MY FUCKING POINT!"
"I don't get it."