Hypocrisy prevails, and another cult crisis arises.
Data center dystopia.
We have seen this movie before: fracking scare, global warming scare, “toxic masculinity” scare, solar battery scare, DJT scare. Liberal Democrats scaring you into conformity. Our infamous Gov. Healey “slams the brakes on data center tax incentives.”
Local residents still have “No Pipeline” and “No Nukes” bumper stickers on their Subarus and Priuses. Soon they will be shouting, “No data centers!” This is why our electricity rates have increased 30% in the past few years — net-zero lunatics.
AI is knowledge. AI is information. AI is a tool. AI is the way out. AI is the future. Like it or not. Use it or lose it.
Modern data centers have self-contained power systems and recycle greywater. They can revitalize rural areas, provide jobs to build them, and provide opportunities for technicians and systems specialists to manage them.
The “glam and fab” hipsters living in urban cities across our country love data while doomscrolling social media apps sitting in chic coffee shops and boutiques. They just don’t want to know where the data comes from.
France generates nearly 70% of its electricity from nuclear power. Spain and Portugal sustained a tragic and deadly power outage in 2025 while trying to generate electricity with 100% wind and solar. The grid became unstable and shut down.
What do these two facts have to do with AI, you ask? Soon, AI will be used by technicians, engineers and administrators to manage power grids. AI will be ubiquitous.
I caught the PC wave and rode it for a 40-year career in computer networking and systems administration.
Don’t believe the “sky is falling” trope.
Jim Bates
Gill