• Opposition To AI Data Centres Is A Growing Trend

    From Lawrence =?iso-8859-13?q?D=FFOliveiro?=@ldo@nz.invalid to nz.general,comp.misc on Tue Aug 11 02:18:32 2026
    From Newsgroup: comp.misc

    Some of the commentary on proposals like the Efc|Efc+ GreensrCO idea of
    pausing the construction of new data centres makes it seem like thatrCOs
    a completely loony idea, the trend is unstoppable, and if we donrCOt
    allow these to be built on our turf, they will simply go elsewhere and
    we will be left behind to stagnate in our little backwater.

    And of course, it must only be rCLthe mediarCY whipping up the opposition
    to the inevitable advance of technology and creating a storm in a
    teacup about it, thererCOs no way that normal rational people would be
    agin it.

    Well, maybe not. This item <https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/data-centers/ai-data-center-bans-surge-past-500-nationwide-as-local-us-politicians-begin-blocking-new-developments-growing-public-outrage-and-bipartisan-pushback-threaten-big-tech-expansion-plans>
    reports that, in the USA, over 500 new data centre developments have
    been blocked so far, and more such refusals keep coming all the time.
    The state of Texas -- one of the last places you would expect to pay
    attention to rCLwokerCY ideas -- has imposed a complete moratorium on new
    data centre proposals for now.
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Nuno Silva@nunojsilva@invalid.invalid to nz.general,comp.misc on Tue Aug 11 08:32:09 2026
    From Newsgroup: comp.misc

    (I'm not reading nz.general, and my comments are not NZ-specific, so followup-to set to comp.misc. YMMV, of course.)

    On 2026-08-11, Lawrence DrCOOliveiro wrote:

    Some of the commentary on proposals like the Efc|Efc+ GreensrCO idea of

    Only when I saw the newsgroup list could I have a guess at what these
    two glyphs were, describe-char does confirm it's "NZ". But I'd say this
    is a prime example of where not to use such UCS glyphs.

    pausing the construction of new data centres makes it seem like thatrCOs
    a completely loony idea, the trend is unstoppable, and if we donrCOt
    allow these to be built on our turf, they will simply go elsewhere and
    we will be left behind to stagnate in our little backwater.

    And of course, it must only be rCLthe mediarCY whipping up the opposition
    to the inevitable advance of technology and creating a storm in a
    teacup about it, thererCOs no way that normal rational people would be
    agin it.

    The little I've read suggests that the trend is that data centres are
    promised, slated to be built, topic of memoranda, and so on, but end up
    not getting built.

    Well, if that's the case, I'd expect the GenAI companies would actually
    want more opposition, so that they could pin their failure on
    that. Heck, they could even boost said opposition.

    But maybe what I read was about outliers?

    Well, maybe not. This item <https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/data-centers/ai-data-center-bans-surge-past-500-nationwide-as-local-us-politicians-begin-blocking-new-developments-growing-public-outrage-and-bipartisan-pushback-threaten-big-tech-expansion-plans>
    reports that, in the USA, over 500 new data centre developments have
    been blocked so far, and more such refusals keep coming all the time.
    The state of Texas -- one of the last places you would expect to pay attention to rCLwokerCY ideas -- has imposed a complete moratorium on new data centre proposals for now.
    --
    Nuno Silva
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Rich@rich@example.invalid to comp.misc on Tue Aug 11 15:08:06 2026
    From Newsgroup: comp.misc

    In comp.misc Nuno Silva <nunojsilva@invalid.invalid> wrote:
    (I'm not reading nz.general, and my comments are not NZ-specific, so followup-to set to comp.misc. YMMV, of course.)

    On 2026-08-11, Lawrence DrCOOliveiro wrote:

    Some of the commentary on proposals like the Efc|Efc+ GreensrCO idea of

    Only when I saw the newsgroup list could I have a guess at what these
    two glyphs were, describe-char does confirm it's "NZ". But I'd say this
    is a prime example of where not to use such UCS glyphs.

    pausing the construction of new data centres makes it seem like thatrCOs
    a completely loony idea, the trend is unstoppable, and if we donrCOt
    allow these to be built on our turf, they will simply go elsewhere and
    we will be left behind to stagnate in our little backwater.

    And of course, it must only be rCLthe mediarCY whipping up the opposition
    to the inevitable advance of technology and creating a storm in a
    teacup about it, thererCOs no way that normal rational people would be
    agin it.

    The little I've read suggests that the trend is that data centres are promised, slated to be built, topic of memoranda, and so on, but end up
    not getting built.

    Well, if that's the case, I'd expect the GenAI companies would actually
    want more opposition, so that they could pin their failure on
    that. Heck, they could even boost said opposition.

    Possible, but.... they (the gen-ai companies) would still be on the
    hook for the debts until they go through bankruptcy court, so simply
    being able to pin their failures on "data center opposition" won't
    become a magic elixir that saves them outright.

    Part of the problem with the AI datacenters is a bit of a "tragedy of
    the commons" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy_of_the_commons)
    problem. They (AI) don't want to pay the capital costs to install the
    support infrastructure they need to areas that do not have such, so
    instead they want to build where the infrastructure already exists,
    which puts them next to folks homes and attached to the local power
    lines, driving up the costs for all the neighbors.

    There's tons of land in the US that is just open land for miles
    (literally for as far as the eye can see). No 'neighbors' worried about
    noise or construction dust or anything. No neighbors at all. But also
    no already built power lines and no already built water infrastructure
    either. They /could/ pay to build the wires and water to support their
    DC, but they'd rather just freeload on the already built wires and
    water systems instead.

    But maybe the opposition might begin to change their mindset about
    building the wires and water support for themselves.
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2