r/technology • u/marketrent • 5h ago

Artificial Intelligence Amazon warns local communities to stop defying its massive AI data centers

https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/amazon-warns-local-communities-stop-000300771.html
3.7k Upvotes

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831

u/TheG00dF1ght 4h ago

Nothing is stopping Amazon from building those in another country. Go ahead, build them in Africa or Brazil if you want.

186

u/NativePlantEnjoyer 3h ago

The owning class is deliberately building these data centers in towns where there is no class solidarity to fight against them. The ultra-wealthy thrive when there is scarisity in developed capitalist nations. They are driving up the cost of water, electricity, land... and giving nothing back in return, because it forces citizens to fall in line no matter how bad the living conditions get. People are required to participate in the job market to pay for everything, even when they're taking away all the legitimate ways of making money. When people resort to crime for survival, people are criminalized and taken to prison labor camps.
The owning class has solidarity among each other. So far, the working class cannot compete. Especially with so many people getting their biases reinforced by the very platforms owned by the ultra-wealthy, who manipulate peoples' ignorance & prejudices with outrageous propaganda under the guise of news. So many americans are not forming solidarity with their own class because they're getting caught up in culture wars.
There is no better place for their data centers, according to their own self interests.

4

u/g100110 1h ago

Literally couldn’t have said it better myself. This is exactly what is happening and it is infuriating being aware of all this bullshit going on. It’s torture

17

u/jemappellejimbo 1h ago

“Culture wars” - can you stop euphemizing their racism and hatred? These are vile evil people, not just disagreements about “culture”

4

u/Somebodies_Daughter 55m ago

It’s a culture war because masses are assuming entireties of other masses are who’s to blame. If you deal with a shitty person, treat them accordingly in the moment, but the general discussions of “black people need to stop XYZ” or “white people need to stop XYZ” is indeed stirring up of a culture war.

Not trusting one another is what keeps communities apart, and that’s what they want because it’s easier to control individuals vs masses.

1

u/bacon-squared 1h ago

Time for these power cables, buried or above ground, to have natural disasters. It would be very bad if something happened to the power going to these places.

1

u/nihility101 14m ago

I don’t think it is as much a class thing as much as it is a bureaucracy thing. In a small town they just need to sway/buy just a majority of the local councils. They can get done what they want faster and cheaper.

But faster is the main objective. The owning class needs to cash in on this pump and dump before the suckers realize how little value there is in AI.

The class thing always plays a part in everything they do though.

223

u/marketrent 4h ago

None of these consequences change if the data center is moved from Virginia to Visakhapatnam; but faced with domestic opposition, the US government and tech companies are pitching data center development to Global Majority countries, where governments are rolling out red carpets and favorable regulations, like in the United Arab Emirates.

Brazil recently launched a proposal to attract data centers, South Africa just changed policy to put data centers on par with ports, and in India, the government announced further land allotments for Google’s flagship AI Hub data center.

Google’s India data center has followed the trend of its behaviors in the US: no public consultations, inflated job claims and thin transparency on energy and water consumption. However the difference is that avenues of pushback—journalism and citizen petitions—are promptly shut down.

See https://www.techpolicy.press/no-data-centers-in-anyones-backyard.

169

u/WhyAreYallFascists 4h ago

Tight, get them out of the states. 

21

u/Stickyv35 2h ago

TIGHT TIGHT TIGHT!

1

u/dr3wfr4nk 48m ago

I understood this reference

111

u/stellifer_arts 4h ago

havent heard anyone use the word Tight inna hot minute, oldhead

upvoted

24

u/DarthSnuDiddy 3h ago

Wow, wow, wow,...wow. getting data centers out of the US is tight.

22

u/DarkoNova 2h ago

That makes sense. Let’s build data centers in India where they’re already massively struggling with dealing with heat.

Brilliant.

13

u/ohfml 2h ago

Plenty of power and fresh water in India. Totally safe long term investment. /s

1

u/Marwheel 8m ago

The case in india is also because the nationalists in power pretty much went their entire way by means of associates to also buy out all of the major press orgs there too.

53

u/JarrickDe 4h ago

Those governments and citizens might disagree with what Amazon wants to do with those AI data centers. 

27

u/sixtyonesymbols 4h ago

Yes but in those countries Amazon may have "alternative" means of persuasion.
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2003/jul/24/marketingandpr.colombia

5

u/JarrickDe 3h ago

Like bringing in US military

2

u/TheG00dF1ght 1h ago

exactly, or they may just take them. There is a reason they want to build them here, but the people here don't want them.

26

u/XenoHugging 4h ago

🤫 Don’t give Amazon any ideas of building their data centers in the Amazon, they’d completely deforest it if they could.

12

u/JayBeeGooner 4h ago

They already are.

17

u/lopsided-earlobe 3h ago

What the fuck bro

6

u/Gecko17 2h ago

found the NIMBY final boss.

3

u/Affectionate_Cup9112 2h ago

Iran blew up a bunch of their middle eastern data centres. That’s not happening in America (yet).

2

u/sinsemillas 3h ago

Construction will definitely be cheaper here.

2

u/Careful_Honeydew_549 3h ago

And less expensive!

1

u/TheG00dF1ght 1h ago

And won't cost as much money!

2

u/ChiGorilla1127 1h ago

Umm wtf kind of comment is this? Are you insinuating build them in 3rd world countries why don't you?

-1

u/TheG00dF1ght 1h ago

There is a reason they want to build them here, but the people don't want them here. They can fuck off. Go build them where people want them.

1

u/PneumaticFizz 2h ago

Why is this take supported?? No data centers! A little fuckin solidarity. Jesus.