An ex-programmer’s devastating take on AI data centers is going viral — and it’s hard to ignore | Tech Radar

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An ex-programmer’s devastating take on AI data centers is going viral — and it’s hard to ignore

A local planning meeting speech is going viral for exposing the real cost of AI infrastructure

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A former programmer’s anti-data-center speech is going viral because it cuts through AI hype and focuses on local costs

Ohio has become a hotspot for backlash over data centers, with concerns over power, water, land use, and tax breaks

The bigger question is whether communities are being asked to sacrifice too much for too little in return

It’s not every day that a city council planning meeting goes viral, but a recent session in Ravenna, Ohio, has done exactly that.

The reason is a speech by ex-programmer, Mr. Hollingsworth, who delivers one of the cleanest and most articulate arguments yet against the construction of a massive AI data center.

The clip has racked up 49 thousand likes on Reddit, with one user commenting, “God Damn that was good. Seriously this should be used as a script in every county these corporations are hustling.”

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A well-articulated argument against a new data center in Ohio from r/interestingasfuck

Most of the common arguments against AI concern the dangers presented by chatbots from hallucinations that provide incorrect answers or the psychological dangers of believing the sycophantic leanings that most chatbots have.

Hollingsworth’s objection was about the more physical needs of AI — the infrastructure and the potential damage it does to the environment. He’s talking about land, water, power, tax breaks, and how few jobs a giant data center may actually offer to the local economy.

“We are being asked to drain our reservoirs so a chatbot can write a poem, or so a sheriff can generate a picture of himself standing next to Bigfoot”, Hollingsworth says. It’s a deliberately absurd image, and that’s the point.

Hollingsworth starts his talk by challenging the idea that modern-day data centers can operate as a ‘closed loop’ system, which doesn't waste water. ‘Closed loop’ uses circulating coolant through sealed systems, eliminating the need for constant water replenishment. Hollingsworth is skeptical that the forever chemicals produced in the cooling process won’t eventually find their way back into the water table, no matter how many studies show otherwise.

He goes on to tackle the myth that data centers bring jobs, and to mention how excessive the power demands will be, and the quotes keep coming throughout:

“They want us to trust a trillion dollar industry that tells us, with a straight face, that they can suck five million gallons of water out of our ground a day, use it as a liquid heat sink and return it to our rivers without a single consequence”, he says.

Ohio is becoming a major battleground over AI infrastructure, with communities questioning whether the trade-offs are worth it. The push back feels less reactionary from somebody like Hollingsworth because of his credibility as an ex-programmer and working with AI models in the past. He frequently says that he is not against new technology or AI in particular, but the costs required for it to run come at a price, and it’s one that the city and its residents will end up paying if the planning permission is given the go-ahead.

The progress of AI often feels inevitable and like it is happening without our consent. It might feel like something that lives in the cloud, but speeches like this are a reminder that AI runs on very real resources. If a project consumes huge amounts of local resources and reshapes the community, but only creates very limited long-term work, then the usual argument for agreeing to data centers, that “you’ll be left behind unless you agree”, starts to lose a lot of its power.

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Graham is the Senior Editor for AI at Tech Radar. With over 25 years of experience in both online and print journalism, Graham has worked for various market-leading tech brands including Computeractive, PC Pro, i More, Mac Format, Mac|Life, Maximum PC, and more. He specializes in reporting on everything to do with AI and has appeared on BBC TV shows like BBC One Breakfast and on Radio 4 commenting on the latest trends in tech. Graham has an honors degree in Computer Science and spends his spare time podcasting and blogging.

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• News, deals, reviews, guides and more on the newest computing gadgets

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• An ex-programmer’s devastating take on AI data centers is going viral — and it’s hard to ignore

• A local planning meeting speech is going viral for exposing the real cost of AI infrastructure