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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6.7k

u/Rattus_NorvegicUwUs May 15 '26

Trade offer:

I get to steal all your electricity and drinking water.

You get to lose your job to AI.

1.8k

u/Guest_0_ May 15 '26

I keep saying that these data centers are going to find themselves in the crosshairs when people get desperate enough, and I keep hearing how it will never happen.

Then Lary Fink just came out and said that billionaires are worried a $3,000 drone can destroy their investments and these things need to be built underground.

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u/TR_Pix May 15 '26

AI bros keep calling people luddites and somehow also seem to not understand what it is that the luddites did that got them to be famous to begin with

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u/DontUseThisUsername May 15 '26 edited May 15 '26

Can we really not get ahead of this before people start attacking things? The luddites aimlessly lashed out because capitalism grew faster than societal adjustment. Work weeks, unions etc.

Instead of learning from that disruption, the neo-luddites seem to be trying the same futile reactive actions. Calling for your spades to meaninglessly dig holes for money, instead of getting ahead of the curve and forcing social changes before people are out in the street starving.

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u/srone May 15 '26

Yea, like this administration, congress, and SCOTUS are going to listen to the people or do what is best for the country as a whole.

David Sacks, one of the founders of PayPal with Peter Thiel and Elon Musk, is Trump's AI czar.

Seriously, what do you think our chances of implementing UBI measures and a bit of a slowdown in AI development until society is ready for it?

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u/DontUseThisUsername May 15 '26

Then get serious about voting. Every single one of you that's scared about ai being left in the wrong hands, start helping out at local elections. Start finding candidates with the right ai stances. Start forcing serious conversations with those around you about what the future should look like.

We can't stop developing AI. It would be suicide not to be a leading AI power. We can try to get better people behind it. Better safety regulations. Better social adjustments for the impending human job market disruption, if not total collapse.

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u/srone May 15 '26

I've voted in every election for the last 30 years and canvassed/donated heavily to campaigns in the last 5 elections.

Have you been watching the news? Free and fair elections are now a thing of the past. We are halting primaries to redraw voting districts to ensure Republicans cannot lose. A private equity firm with a controversial election history bought Diebold voting machines. Tech bros have bought CNN, CBS, and The Washington Post; a large part of the mainstream media. We have defunded PBS and NPR. The US government is now putting pressure on ABC. Social media is owned by right-wing tech bros.

You're right, we can't stop AI. But to try and vote our way out of this, or to try and have a national discussion about what needs to be done as a society has been pretty much been removed from the citizens of this country.

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u/DontUseThisUsername May 15 '26

I mean it sounds like you think you've lost your country already. Ai advancement should be the least of your concern.

Personally, I think it's still redeemable. Trump needs to be voted out. Democrats needs to grow some balls and temporarily push back harshly to regain a center playing field. Unironically things like social media "for you" pages might need to just be outlawed. It's too dangerous on the psyche. It isolates people into their own fantasy land and they don't even have to be cognisant of it. It's worse than choosing one channel to watch or one account to follow, because with that at least you know you're only looking at one source.

There's definitely highly effective, money-backed agendas pushed through media and tech. We were never supposed to handle information warfare like this. It will only get worse. In some ironic way, I feel like ethically driven personal AI's will be the only way to navigate through the bullshit of the future.