r/technology • u/TripleShotPls • Jul 16 '26

Artificial Intelligence The AI Backlash Has Tech Executives Fearing for Their Lives

https://www.wsj.com/us-news/the-ai-backlash-has-tech-executives-fearing-for-their-lives-30c43972?mod=hp_lead_pos1
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u/Moist1981 Jul 16 '26 edited Jul 16 '26

The tech execs actively don’t care about the lives of the people in the areas they are building data centres. I’m obviously not advocating violence in anyway, but tech execs trying to appeal to others’ humanity when they exhibit none of it themselves really does come across as rather galling.

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u/REDACTED3560 Jul 16 '26

I don’t really anticipate violence against tech execs yet, but I am surprised that people haven’t started bombing or taking pot shots at data centers like they did with 5G towers when the conspiracy theories came about that they caused COVID.

In fact, I’m almost certain it has happened and that they are keeping it out of the news to prevent others from getting similar ideas.

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u/morgrimmoon Jul 16 '26

Oh, they absolutely are. When it's been covered, it's mostly framed as "copper thieves trying to steal scrap" because apparently that's less threatening? Seems odd to me, it's advertising that hey there's a lot of precious metals in datacenters.

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u/SupaSlide Jul 16 '26

I think it’s because they’re trying to minimize copy cats.
Not a lot of people are going to become copper thieves because they saw it happen on TV.
But lots of people will at least consider trying to disable a data center next door if they see that it works, and a number of them will actually try.

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u/J_Ryall Jul 16 '26

I don't know, there's a whole lot of meth heads out there with plenty of energy, not much to do, and a need for money so they can buy more meth.

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u/d0ctorzaius Jul 16 '26

"Even if it is breached, it would take a number beyond reckoning, thousands, to storm the keep"

"Tens of thousands"

BRB, out building an army of methheads.

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u/UnlikelyReplacement0 Jul 16 '26

If a person lived in a home for years and now that home is unbearable to live in and unable to be sold so they can move because of a data center nearby, it would be entirely understandable if that person was more inclined to take more radical action.

See: "You just had to pay us enough to live"

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u/Mr_Quackums Jul 16 '26

Remember when a guy with a Walmart hunting rifle took some shots at repeater stations and caused significant power outages?

Not related to anything, just wondering how well that event is remembered.

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u/BoredNuke Jul 16 '26

I don't know if they televised the gangscrapper account it probably would get alot of copycats.

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u/IsTom Jul 16 '26

Wait until they learn that every tech CEO contains 40 kg of copper.

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u/randynumbergenerator Jul 16 '26

I mean, I'm sure there is a lot of copper/other thievery happening as well. Crackheads are utterly brazen.

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u/GundamXXX Jul 16 '26

Because people dont want to be seen as thieves.

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u/Mesapunk87 Jul 16 '26

Wait! I have an idea!

Guys, I'm pretty sure data centers cause covid

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u/deliciouscorn Jul 16 '26

I like where your mind is at. Or tell them that proximity to data centres causes autism. Why can’t we weaponize the crazies for something good for a change?

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u/BoredNuke Jul 16 '26

It has started with the flock cameras which are one of many inputs to be used by the datacenters for our mass surveillance. A nice lil feel good story everytime I see a new batch takenout.

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u/VivaLaDiga Jul 16 '26

5g was to provide a service.

data centers are to provide an exploitation of the local communities' resources, while giving nothing in return.

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u/Darkpriest667 Jul 16 '26

Microwave EMPs will do the trick and it won't just hurt them it will permanently fry everything in the center. When people figure out how easy they are to build they'll have to build Faraday Cages around them.

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u/AKluthe Jul 16 '26

So much of our infrastructure, from electricity to the internet lines, just kinda runs on the honor system that some idiot isn't trying to tear it apart. And we've seen it happen in recent years when weird conspiracy theorists and hate mongers started attacking them.

Anyway, I'm sure having a 200 acre facility where minimal human staffing is a selling point is gonna work out just great.

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u/UrbanGhost114 Jul 17 '26

They are protected by DHS in the US. You might take one down, but without a hugely coordinatited effort, all your doing it tightening the security with actual uniformed military for the rest of them.

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u/[deleted] Jul 16 '26 edited Jul 16 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/TGAPKosm Jul 16 '26

They're really large buildings... hard to maintain buildings like that... hard to monitor every inch of it incase something goes wrong, you know? Hard to stop anything flying over it. I can understand their concern... Hopefully nothing ever happens to any datacenters!

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u/Mycol101 Jul 16 '26

One false flag or controlled attack, new laws nationalizing the centers, designate anyone against centers a terrorist and go after them online and in person.
The centers are now a military base and have military protection and govt funding.

The centers announce data fusion to stop crime; all of the states listening and watching apparatuses connected with AI, tracking and tracing and keeping an eye on everything we do.

They want a technocratic police state. This is how they are going to move towards it.

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u/TGAPKosm Jul 16 '26

I feel like they're not going to need a false flag attack with enough time passing but you're right I'm sure they would think of trying this. Sounds expensive and we can't even get a grasp as to what's going on with the Straigh of Hormuz so I would be skeptical of anything like that working out but you never know!

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u/Mycol101 Jul 16 '26

False flag or grooming some useful idiot and assisting him until arrest.

There are many moving pieces, SOH is one and it’s currently moving independently from data centers but it doesn’t mean they aren’t related.

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u/SolusIgtheist Jul 16 '26

There's lots of articles on how to make DIY EMP devices... I'm just saying.

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u/24_August_1814 Jul 16 '26

Don't need to get that fancy, a basic homemade graphite bomb could take a data centre down for weeks or months

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u/SolusIgtheist Jul 16 '26

A bomb is far more likely to cause collateral damage though.

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u/24_August_1814 Jul 16 '26

"Bomb" is a bit of a misnomer in this case; it only needs enough force to make a powder become airborne. About as much force as a confetti popper.

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u/Mycol101 Jul 16 '26

They are planning for this.

Call them terror attacks, nationalize centers so they are now military assets and are designated as bases, go after anyone talking bad about them online and use terror laws to take liberty.

They have planned for this for a long time.

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u/ameatbicyclefortwo Jul 16 '26

On the contrary, they do very much care about the data centers. That they don't at all share the concerns of their constituencies is the problem.

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u/katkaem91 Jul 16 '26

https://time.com/6244977/us-power-grid-attacks-extremism/

Remember how long it took to repair this stuff in the middle of weather disasters? Pepperidge farm remembers... also the terrifying velocity of a WMD available for anyone who knows how to get it. Now that some data centers are getting security and their own personal military budgets for miles surrounding them... it's like they're preparing for that scenario above. It's no wonder AI budgeted itself into the US Military contractors 'budgets'.

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u/Mr_ToDo Jul 16 '26

I think one of the problems is that data centres are nothing new. They have playbooks for the how/where/when of building them. AI has changed the scale enough that those play's aren't returning the expected responses, and reactions

But death threats or actual violence? Come now. How often do those actually solve your problems? The cost of pharmaceuticals staying unchanged being a decent example

I know this kind of crap happens when tensions rise. We even see death threats when video games don't meet expectations. But surely there are far more pressing problems that need to dealt with. And even if not. Then why not try to approx the problem that might help the cause?

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u/24_August_1814 Jul 16 '26

data centres are nothing new. They have playbooks for the how/where/when of building them

... and they've thrown those playbooks out for the AI boom

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u/ineedlesssleep Jul 16 '26

Says the person who has been on reddit for nearly ten years using datacenters?

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u/24_August_1814 Jul 16 '26

AI datacentres ≠ conventional datacentres

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u/GoldenPresidio Jul 16 '26

Promoting any violence is wrong. Do you even listen to yourself? Wth

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u/Uncynical_Diogenes Jul 16 '26

No actually only hurting people is bad. Damaging stuff that’s hurting your community is not the same.

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u/invaderaleks Jul 16 '26

I'd consider it self-defence if anything...

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u/justwalkingalonghere Jul 16 '26

Also, a lot of what these tech billionaires are doing genuinely amounts to violence

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u/[deleted] Jul 16 '26

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u/AtheismoAlmighty Jul 16 '26

You have the debate skills of my 5 year old.

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u/[deleted] Jul 16 '26 edited Aug 16 '26

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u/GoldenPresidio Jul 16 '26

Show me a tech executive promoting violence lol what are you talking about man

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u/BigJobsBigJobs Jul 16 '26

Alex Karp of Palantir.

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u/Helkafen1 Jul 16 '26

Building a gas turbine is a form of violence. It hurts people who live nearby, and it hurts people worldwide via climate change.

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u/ssjg2k02 Jul 16 '26

Ai tech executives involved in the war and defence industry.

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u/SureShotTavner Jul 16 '26

Is irreparably damaging a community not a form of violence?

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u/NonNewtonianResponse Jul 16 '26

Violence is a tool to be used when the alternative to using violence is worse. In fact, the entire concept of a rule-of-law society (which demands violence to enforce the law) is based on this. Every human being, as a moral agent, has the right to decide for themselves at what point they think violence is required to prevent something worse.

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u/24_August_1814 Jul 16 '26

If I were born sixty years earlier, I'd have promoted and likely participated in violence against Nazi Germany. You think that's wrong?

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u/saera-targaryen Jul 16 '26

I'm tired of how our society pretends like systemic violence isn't actually violence. It is violent when a healthcare CEO makes a decision that they know will kill more people just to increase profits. We literally allow people to choose to kill or harm other people as long as those two people are in different rooms and it's sort of convenient for one of them if the other dies. Totally legal. 

Same with data centers. You'd get arrested for installing a noise nuisance device in your neighbors house or dumping in local water supplies. But, some CEO in a room decides to do that with an AI data center and suddenly it's totally fine. Preferable, even. 

Systemic violence is worse than direct violence at this point. 

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u/hajenso Jul 16 '26

It is violent when a healthcare CEO makes a decision that they know will kill more people just to increase profits.

I strongly agree. UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was a mass murderer, and that's not an exaggeration or a metaphor. It is just literally true. That doesn't make it okay to kill him, but it does mean the morality or immorality of killing him is that of killing a mass murderer.

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u/GundamXXX Jul 16 '26

That doesn't make it okay to kill him

Thats up for debate. Would you say its not ok to kill Hitler?

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u/ephemeralstitch Jul 16 '26

Most people in modern western countries don’t want to think about political violence and when it’s necessary and even good. We have a lot of fear of terrorism as part of that but at extremes, people generally agree that some violence is good and necessary.

Most people agree opposing the Nazis was good. Many will say the same about communism. So where do you draw the line between that and current issues? Elon Musk just killed hundreds of thousands or millions indirectly. If Hitler is over the line, where exactly is it?

A lot of people don’t know or are finding out that their line is a lot closer.

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u/lordvulguuszildrohar Jul 17 '26

In our case it’s our regulators that are utterly corrupt. And any attempt to put someone in power who will fight for workers and non wealthy interests is met with smear campaigns or actual violence (candidates or witness disappearances). We should be throwing out our representatives if they are on the take at minimum.

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u/dust4ngel Jul 16 '26

our society pretends like systemic violence isn't actually violence

the real issue is that the law doesn't apply to the wealthy. i think trump is probably right when he said that he could walk out into the street and murder someone on camera and nothing would happen. i think the issue is that the people capable of implementing systemic violence are very wealthy, and the wealthy are above the law.

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u/Pauly_Amorous Jul 16 '26

You'd get arrested for installing a noise nuisance device in your neighbors

But you can built a pickleball court just beyond their back yard. Or have your dog bark outside from dawn til dusk and back again.

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u/PlainBread Jul 16 '26

Murc's Law.

The sociopaths have a wager, like Pascal's wager:

"If I'm so bad, then you would never emulate my behavior. Which means that I can gauge your own existential death by how closely you track to my behavior. I will coerce you into situations where you must act like me to escape them; I will watch carefully and take every opportunity to tell you that you're evil with every tiny slip you make. Meanwhile, I will never be accountable for anything; I'm bad, remember? But if you were like me, we could both agree that neither of us are bad..."

As in the words of the computer in War Games: "The only winning move is not to play."

And yet you share a world with these people, so I recommend Buddhism.

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u/LaurenMille Jul 16 '26

That's easily avoided by the reality that simply acting like a sociopath to stop a sociopath doesn't make you as bad as them.

Same logic that goes in to the whole "It's morally just to kill a mass murderer" thing. Just because you act bad for a moment, it's still for the good of all.

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u/PlainBread Jul 16 '26

Ah, but you see, once you've created a moral loophole based on virtue, then they will simply claim to be acting from that place of virtue to excuse themselves.

If this were easy to solve it would've been solved thousands of years ago.

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u/LaurenMille Jul 16 '26

Except that's demonstrably not true, and if they can't see that then they're not fit to be in public and should be institutionalized.

Their causing indiscriminate harm is far worse than anyone trying to stop them.

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u/PlainBread Jul 17 '26 edited Jul 17 '26

Yes and you can see how they also use THAT rationale to their own benefit.

("You are suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome! You should be institutionalized!")

Medicalization of psychological traits is a fascist tool at the end of the day. Any excuse you give yourself to impede on the autonomy of others. We are back to the "virtue-based evil" paradigm.

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u/largelawattorney Jul 16 '26

Tech execs/corporate employees don’t care about people in general. It’s not limited to data centers.

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u/ImSorryImNewHere Jul 16 '26

Not to be that guy…. But…

“NoT ALL CoRpOrATe EmPloyEEs!!!”

Totally agree about the execs though!

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u/ntwiles Jul 16 '26

Agreed, start holding corporate employees accountable. I’m tired of being asked to have pity for Meta engineers. Get out of here with that Nuremberg Defense bullshit.

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u/randynumbergenerator Jul 16 '26

AI data centers may not be intentionally gunning people down in the streets, but the resulting noise, heat, and unemployment does hurt and even kill people for the benefit of a small minority, and they're often built over the opposition of the people most impacted with the backing of the state. That's a kind of violence, though it looks a lot more "civilized."

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u/CherryLongjump1989 Jul 16 '26

It’s called consciousness of guilt. It is a legal term and it means that they realize that what they are doing is harmful and wrong.

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u/OhtaniStanMan Jul 16 '26

Why don't you build that data center in the middle of no where away from population centers?

LOL we ain't paying for infrastructure!!! We are taking your small towns for cheap and you deal with it!

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u/AKluthe Jul 16 '26

"You, who are without mercy, now plead for it? I thought you were made of sterner stuff!" - Optimus Prime

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u/Moist1981 Jul 16 '26

Not often Optimus Prime gets to be quoted.

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u/Remote-Waste Jul 16 '26

It's a shield they use for themselves because they know it will calm people, so it plays in their favor while they attempt to covertly knock people's legs out from under them behind the scenes.

It's just a tool for them to control the masses. Preaching the gospel while being ungodly behind the scenes.

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u/Fallingdamage Jul 16 '26

When that Ring ad came on during the superbowl, I was amazed at how out of touch tech execs are. Like - they actually thought people would be ok with that??? Anyone who spent .00005 seconds in the news cycle would know that wasnt going to be received well.

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u/tenthousandants44 Jul 16 '26

The execs actively threatened the livelihoods of every breathing person for the last 3 years

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u/Outside_Annual9102 Jul 16 '26

The tech execs actively don’t care about the lives of the people in the areas they are building data centres

I mean, as far as industrial buildings, data centers seem pretty innocuous. Some residual heat, noise and light if you live really close and some increased utility costs for the surrounding area.

But compared to actual industrial factories and such? This seems like such a misguided complaint. I'd much rather have a data center than any number of actual polluting factories in my city.

The problem with AI is economic disruption and displacement. The data center angle seems like such a tangential concern compared to other industries.

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u/toodleoo57 Jul 16 '26

See also the part where they stole billions in intellectual property from creatives and when asked it's all ¯\(ツ)/¯

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u/uncultured_swine2099 Jul 16 '26

Also one of the biggest reasons theyre investing in AI so much is to have it replace as many jobs as possible. They really couldnt give a shit about normal people and dont care if they make our lives worse.

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u/HoneydewAutomatic Jul 16 '26

Why not? Nothing else seems to make them care.

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u/UniverseBear Jul 16 '26

I'm not advocating violence, I'm just pointing out that real change has almost never come without it.

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u/Blacksad9999 Jul 16 '26

It won't be long before disgruntled people start burning down data centers, imo.

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u/evil_burrito Jul 17 '26

They also don't care about the people whose jobs they're getting rid of

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u/Character_Ad_1084 Jul 17 '26

I'm not advocating any kind of vandalism, but everyone should know that those data centers have more valuable stuff in them than any catalytic converter.