Are you for or against Data Centers?

[PandaBear]

But what are they computing? 5 times nothing is still nothing. beyond virtual things, and communications I see no improvement in day to day tech, than 30 years ago.....really, it has been down hill, with the exception to some things....battery tech being one.

If AI is all super duper powerful, how come they do not direct the AI to make ultra efficient solar panels ending the worlds power "issue".

Some say "Because we have not figured it out yet".......well with the help of super computers that can make billion of decisions per minute, and access to all of the worlds data......coming up with something as simple as a 100% efficient solar panel should not be that far away. Or cure cancer. Or, make a car that gets 100 miles per gallon?



Maybe. Such a building would be a very easy target for a near peer to destroy. To bank most capabilities on such a building would be foolish IMO.

More likely the data to be used against us, than a military adversary

Because you don't generate new knowledge by simulation and following past experience. AI is trained on past experience, just like your undergraduate college students. When you hire a new grad you don't expect them to be able to invent new things right away.

Also AI can't do anything without a physical experiment in a lab to back things up. A lot of companies are already doing that though, they have things called "digital twins" and use simulation from AI to tell research what to test in real world then repeat again.

Most data centers users are on redundant setup and have disaster recovery plan. You probably have to blow up more than 2/3 of the worlds' data center before you can wipe out the large providers instead of slowing them down. Now when you have space data center then you have to wipe out the orbits too.

Most of the problems in the world is due to economic feasibility rather than technological feasibility.

 

[4wd]

I’m thinking have Data Center a mile away from shoreline.

100 yards from the Gulf !

 

[burbguy82]

Because you don't generate new knowledge by simulation and following past experience. AI is trained on past experience, just like your undergraduate college students. When you hire a new grad you don't expect them to be able to invent new things right away.

Also AI can't do anything without a physical experiment in a lab to back things up. A lot of companies are already doing that though, they have things called "digital twins" and use simulation from AI to tell research what to test in real world then repeat again.

Most data centers users are on redundant setup and have disaster recovery plan. You probably have to blow up more than 2/3 of the worlds' data center before you can wipe out the large providers instead of slowing them down. Now when you have space data center then you have to wipe out the orbits too.

Most of the problems in the world is due to economic feasibility rather than technological feasibility.

 

[burbguy82]

I think start at the end of 2025 Claude Code was able to do real productive work that is faster than what human can do efficiently. This is like someone was able to read your design from the last 30 years then become a better engineer than you are, if you are willing to pay for the token cost. Before that sure, a lot of fake videos as tech demo, but recently OpenAI reduced / stopped these video generation AI and focus back on productivity stuff like software development.

It is just the start but from what I heard a lot of Indian contracting firm employee got laid off in the last several months because they can't compete with AI. Many of the translation gigs and testing gigs are now done by AI completely instead of outsourced to 3rd world.

Palentir has been doing a lot for the military as well as automate human labor intensive but boring work but they aren't generative AI, they are ontology based instead.

 

[Pew]

I’m thinking have Data Center a mile away from shoreline.

Very location dependent I believe. For Lake Michigan, a mile away can mean you're still in downtown Chicago or other city suburbs or in a place so rural that the utility companies will have to upgrade all services. Then you'll still have to find the employees if you go too rural.

Or probably certain counties give bigger "breaks", bribes, etc

Near me, there's a massive data center being built on the edge of the far west Chicago suburbs, like 50 miles out where suburban houses start turning into farm land. I have no idea why so far away other than "favors". Lots of the towns around are now plumbed into Chicago's water now.

 

[GrumpyCat]

Normal hosting data centers are full of storage devises that don’t need much for cooling or power. AI data centers are full of nvidia h200 gpus that suck up massive amounts of power and need tons of water to cool them down.
One h200 chip consumes around 400 watts and each data center can have hundreds of thousands of h200 gpus. It’s not even in the same universe as a hosting data center when it comes to cooling and power.

You are ignoring the value of services that can be sold on each type of cpu.

If one can get $10 for an hour of h200 time then 400W is 0.4kWh or 4¢ at 10¢/kWh. Spend less than 4¢ more to cool.

 

[KrisZ]

You are ignoring the value of services that can be sold on each type of cpu.

If one can get $10 for an hour of h200 time then 400W is 0.4kWh or 4¢ at 10¢/kWh. Spend less than 4¢ more to cool.

Then one should not lobby local governments to foot the bill, give you tax breaks and make the local people pay for building up the infrastructure needed to provide your data center with electricity and water. All for a handful of jobs.

Pay for everything and then we can talk how much that H200 chip is making for you.

 

[SC Maintenance]

Seems for some communities the gig is up.

 

[4wd]

Seems for some communities the gig is up.

View attachment 339979

View attachment 339980

Looks like a round of Bingo followed

 

[Silverado12]

I honestly don't see much good coming from them so with my very limited knowledge I'm against them at the moment but not against tech per se.

 

[Owen Lucas]

Looks like a round of Bingo followed

I've been to meetings like these before.

They'd complain a new manhole cover is too shiny and vote down anything and everything while livestreaming it on YouTube.

Right on them with the data center stuff though.

 

[4wd]

I've been to meetings like these before.

They'd complain a new manhole cover is too shiny and vote down anything and everything while livestreaming it on YouTube.

Right on them with the data center stuff though.

Only data center they want is that Bingo Card

 

[BHopkins]

Practically every website you visit is hosted in a data center.
Do you use an app to order fast food?
Buy airline tickets online?
Order from Amazon?
Share medical information from one doctor to another doctor?
Use Waze, Google Maps, or Apple maps ... and get real time traffic updates?

It's all hosted in a data centers.

Thank you! Just this week I drove past a protest at our court house, over that are protesting the proposed AI data center, that would be located in the Western desert of Northern Utah. My wife pointed out one of the protestors on her cell phone.

I don't want to get in a heated debate, but I would sincerely like to ask these protestors, such as the lady on her phone, if they are willing to stop using so much data themselves, in all the ways mentioned above. And so much more.

Data Centers need water, why not build near Lake Michigan…… or Lake Okeechobee (Florida) ?

Lots of water and lots of empty land available.

Just thinking…..

Isn't that is a very broad generalization. Yes, data centers need water. But from what I understand, newer data centers are using cooling technology that uses significantly less water than earlier data centers.

 

[KrisZ]

Thank you! Just this week I drove past a protest at our court house, over that are protesting the proposed AI data center, that would be located in the Western desert of Northern Utah. My wife pointed out one of the protestors on her cell phone.

I don't want to get in a heated debate, but I would sincerely like to ask these protestors, such as the lady on her phone, if they are willing to stop using so much data themselves, in all the ways mentioned above. And so much more.

What gave you the idea that all of the new data centers being built are for the end users? Was there a shortage before where people could not use their devices or connect to the internet?

 

[SC Maintenance]

Thank you! Just this week I drove past a protest at our court house, over that are protesting the proposed AI data center, that would be located in the Western desert of Northern Utah. My wife pointed out one of the protestors on her cell phone.

I don't want to get in a heated debate, but I would sincerely like to ask these protestors, such as the lady on her phone, if they are willing to stop using so much data themselves, in all the ways mentioned above. And so much more.



Isn't that is a very broad generalization. Yes, data centers need water. But from what I understand, newer data centers are using cooling technology that uses significantly less water than earlier data centers.

You’re being completely gas lit. See above comments between cloud hosting and AI data centers.

Web service data centers use a tiny fraction of the power and water.

 

[KrisZ]

You’re being completely gas lit. See above comments between cloud hosting and AI data centers.

Web service data centers use a tiny fraction of the power and water.

That’s probably the reason the term data center is used in the first place, to confuse the public and make them accept their sudden arrival in their neighborhoods much easier.
The AI monstrosities are not really data centers, they are more similar to the bitcoin farms than data centers.

 

[GrumpyCat]

Then one should not lobby local governments to foot the bill, give you tax breaks and make the local people pay for building up the infrastructure needed to provide your data center with electricity and water. All for a handful of jobs.

Pay for everything and then we can talk how much that H200 chip is making for you.

But that is the way our economy works these days. Nobody builds so much as a Walmart or subdivision without government incentives and giveaways.

We are solidly in a State Capitalism Economy.

 

[GrumpyCat]

I honestly don't see much good coming from them so with my very limited knowledge I'm against them at the moment but not against tech per se.

You posted your message on a data center. Don’t see much good coming from them?

 

[GrumpyCat]

You’re being completely gas lit. See above comments between cloud hosting and AI data centers.

Web service data centers use a tiny fraction of the power and water.

You never know what is inside the data center. If AI is more profitable and they have customers then other hardware gets moved out.

Fact is the “other hardware” is necessary to access the AI.

 

[SC Maintenance]

You never know what is inside the data center. If AI is more profitable and they have customers then other hardware gets moved out.

Fact is the “other hardware” is necessary to access the AI.

Gaslighting the public that there smart phone requires the AI data center is apropo. Sadam had wmd’s, Betty Lou the bus driver caused the GFC because she bought too much house. 2 weeks to flatten the curve. I could continue.

They always find someone to carry there water for them.