this post was submitted on 15 May 2026
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185
Turns out, nobody wants a data center in their backyard (www.motherjones.com)
submitted 6 hours ago by sanitation@lemmy.radio to c/technology@lemmy.world
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[–] thinkercharmercoderfarmer@slrpnk.net 33 points 5 hours ago (2 children)

I would love a (solar-powered) community datacenter that hosts services for the local population. Community bulletin board or forum to share event notices, lost pets, road closures etc, simple messaging and filesharing utilities for those not technical enough to host their own, maybe some simple games like chess or cards.

The problem with the current explosion of datacenters is that they don't benefit the community at all, they're just digital oil rigs that drain the community of resources while also actively poisoning the area they're in. Small wonder communities are against them.

[–] Telorand@reddthat.com 2 points 2 hours ago

Digital Oil Rig is such a great analogy for multiple reasons.

[–] RIotingPacifist@lemmy.world 10 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

Honestly that doesn't really need a datacenter, a single solar panel and a low power computer or couple of PIs.

I think the scale of these AI datacenter build out is part of the problem, that level of compute is really only useful for AI and Ai-adjacent loads like mass surveillance!

[–] thinkercharmercoderfarmer@slrpnk.net 5 points 4 hours ago

I guess it depends on how much equipment is needed before something becomes a "datacenter". I don't really see a community hub being a massive supercomputer, maybe a small office or a room in a local library. I'd argue that a single server could be called a datacenter if it centralizes data, but I don't think that is the common understanding of the word. Maybe the word needs to be reclaimed.

[–] Zen_Shinobi@lemmy.world 1 points 2 hours ago

I would gladly take a nuclear power plant or oil field in my backyard than a useless AI center that is worse for the environment than those two.

[–] RonnyZittledong@lemmy.world 19 points 6 hours ago (2 children)

I don't want a data center in my back yard unless it's MY data center.

[–] Semi_Hemi_Demigod@lemmy.world 12 points 5 hours ago

It takes a surprisingly small data center to serve a single house. I run a more reliable streaming service than Netflix from my basement.

[–] CosmoNova@lemmy.world 1 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago) (1 children)

With all the tax breaks and investor money that might be cheaper than buying a gaming PC at this point.

[–] village604@adultswim.fan 3 points 4 hours ago

You can do a lot if you toss Proxmox on an old gaming computer.

[–] Zephorah@discuss.online 10 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

That’s a lot of city councils betraying their constituency. Wonder what the payoff is, or if it’s a simple matter of human beings avoiding confrontation with people they perceive as being “bigger” than themselves, no payout necessary.

Avoidance of perceived confrontation is and will continue to be our downfall as a civilization.

[–] wizardbeard@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

Groups like the ones pushing data centers can and do literally hire people to figure out how to get in the politicians' good graces, convince the politicians it is not only a good idea but the best idea, stoke the politicians' ego(s) such that they think they know best/better than the people they supposedly represent, and then literally train the politicians on how they can do an end run around their constituents to get things passed by the letter of the law but clearly not the intent of the law.

I know Louis Rossman can be a controversial figure due to how he communicates things, but he's been doing a good job exposing how Flock surveillance cameras are getting passed/governmentally funded in shady ways in numerous jurisdictions where they have negative public support. It would be silly to expect that the tactics they are using are also not in use by the much larger forces with deeper pockets behind all these data center pushes.

I absolutely have less than zero respect for politicians, but I seriously cannot imagine living a life almost entirely surrounded by people deeply trained to manipulate my emotions, sense of self, and self validation towards corporate ends. Beyond all the obvious life experience/world view differences due to wealth and socioeconomic strata, that's fucking terrifying.

[–] Zephorah@discuss.online 6 points 5 hours ago

I don’t know why anyone would find Rossman controversial.

He’s great. Gently welcoming you to the show to tell you how you’re getting fucked today. Some attitude on Bambu Labs, but that’s understandable. GemeraNexus is in with him. Can’t imaging Loyal Moses not being so as well.

I’m of that generation that believes when you buy something it is yours. Period. End of sentence. But that’s a GenX thing I think.

To me, the man is stating the obvious. Granted, who knows what mentality corporate America has created in today’s teens and 20-somethings on the topic. Maybe they all just sub to things with little to no hesitation with no resistance, pause, or expectation of better. I don’t know.

[–] FaceDeer@fedia.io 0 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

It's a phenomenon called NIMBY and it's not specific to data centers.

[–] KoboldCoterie@pawb.social 11 points 4 hours ago

The distinction is that NIMBYs only object to the infrastructure when it's in their back yard. I think the majority of people object to these data centers anywhere, but only have voting power to directly oppose them in their back yards, so that's where their effort is spent. I haven't seen anyone say "I definitely want another massive datacenter to go up, just not here."