The question becomes 'what sort of data are data centers storing?' When you have a government that is actively monitoring our online activity, and not hiding the fact, to me, personally, it makes me suspicious of the sudden need for so many.
The trump sycophant running for governor in my state is advocating building these in our "vast unused" rural spaces. She also says these data centers need to be deregulated, meaning local government will have no sway in the decisions made by these behemoths.
I don't think any massive corporation should be deregulated, especially one with the potential to be used against a country's own citizens.
I can already hear you self proclaimed seeing-both-sides folk snorting and rolling your eyes as you point out valid uses for these storage places. Sure. So let those corporations store their own data. It might be cheaper to use massive storage data centers, but why are we so concerned about making another way to cut costs for corporations?
Stacey Garrity is trailing Josh Shapiro in that governor's race by double digits right now, very good news.
(Reminder to anonymous: if you don't put your name to your comment it will be deleted.)
What has six heads, twelve legs, makes a lot of flappy, agitated noise? (Answer: six chickens who immediately flock and head straight at any cat looking interested.) After a week, the cats ignore them. I have begun to cautiously turn them out in the morning.
Those vast data centres would possibly make good targets for hostile agents?
ReplyDeleteThat is something I wonder about as well. If all the data is at one site, wouldn't that make it easier for hackers to access larger data collections.
Delete"Vast unused rural spaces" - what is that? Farm land, maybe? Forests? What does "unused" mean? No urban person/corporation/politician making money exploiting it? Seems a bit tone deaf! I enjoy watching your critters' stories!
ReplyDeleteCeci (sorry about the "anonymous" thing; I have a very old laptop set up and this is the best it can manage!).
You always identify yourself.
DeleteI'm glad the chickens seem to be getting their bluff in on the cats! Btw... I think you might be one of the anonymous commenters I get on my blog. I can usually figure out who it is (like the time you mentioned the Amish girls), but not always. Please at least put a D at the end when you comment!
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, I don't normally even notice. I am not coming there to leave a bit of snark though. I will try to be mindful.
DeleteOur 2008 banking crisis was precisely because of people like her. Blecch. As a fellow Pennsylvanian, sure am glad we have Shapiro and I pray he keeps that lead. Sick of these godda--nevermind!
ReplyDeleteHe is really looking out for the people of Pennsylvania.
DeleteHe sure is Debby, was here in Pittsburgh yesterday for our Labor Day parade 😊
DeleteTrue city mind, describing beautiful wilderness, even farmland, as vast and unused. I used to work with a New Yorker who described the rich farmland we were surrounded by in those terms. We had the second most fertile land to the Shenandoah Valley. I set her straight sharpish.
ReplyDeleteI would be interested to know how she defines 'unused.
DeleteSpace? Forests? Farmland?
Your chickens crack me up! Do they have names yet? Or a collective name? Too funny. "We ain't scared of no cats".
ReplyDeleteI live about 18 miles from the shores of Lake Erie, one of the GREAT Lakes, the largest source of fresh water. Two data collection companies have moved into nearby rural communities - one hoodwinked a small village, the other was done in secret in a township closer to the lake - There are no jobs created, they moved into existing buildings. And there goes our fresh water supply. Is the master plan to take away our water so billionaires can buy more stuff? It makes me physically ill.
Here is a pretty good overview of how our state is pushing back. The lack of transparency really is my biggest concern. We have every right to understand what is going on.
DeleteOh gees. Forgot the link: public backlash against data centers is rising. Politicians are playing catchup : NPR https://share.google/s1P9EbFj9JejUIECJ
DeleteThanks for the article. I think public officials are surprised that their constituents don't want this. In Ohio we have Vivek Ramaswarmy (R) who is pro data centers and is even an investor in them. The only positive in my rural area is that the opposition to the data centers is bipartisan. All the sudden the blues are not the only people showing up to the all republican township, village, city and county meetings. The reds are just as angry. Especially since two have been granted without notice.
DeleteAllison & i have been asking the same question ever since this data center building spree began. "What in the world is driving the need for all this excess computing power?" Seems to me that the artificial intelligence engines are doing quite well now, so why the building boom? Who is the customer for all of this computing power, what are they going to use it for? I'm not one for conspiracy theories but what the h*** is driving this? Those are good looking chickens, what kind are they?
ReplyDeleteTwo are Ayem Cemanis and two are Barred Rocks. Not sure of the other two yet.
DeleteYes, AI centres being planned here and us poor lesser beings have absolutely no say against them - even local councils cannot turn down planning. They will be overrun by the powers that be. Terrifying glimpse into the future.
ReplyDeleteGlad the chickens have decided that strength in numbers is the way to see off an interested cat!!
I just think that people need to know who, what, when, where and why.
DeleteWe are certainly right to ask questions about the data centers. I suspect AI is going to take us to some crazy places, whether we want to go there or not. I'm missing the days of books and typewriters! (Thought I do love to blog. :) )
ReplyDeleteThe internet is a double edged sword for sure.
DeleteJust how much data does everybody need? Somebody needs to keep an eye on things, and we know a certain somebody that won’t.
ReplyDeleteI cannot wait for that somebody to become a nobody.
DeleteApparently we need data centres to run everything, or so AI says:)
ReplyDelete"Without data centers, the global digital economy, modern communication, and essential infrastructure like banking, healthcare, and logistics would collapse within hours"
I call bullshit, but what do I know? I've lived most of my life without them and survived. Perhaps we need less technology and more people actually talking to each other. Remember when we actually went to a bank? I know, I sound like a cranky old lady.
Your chickens are wonderful. I have to satisfy myself with watching a magpie eating suet off the railing of the deck.
This doesn't explain the need for such a vast increase in numbers though, unless I am missing something.
DeleteI had bantams like yours ..I miss them
ReplyDeleteI am enjoying them so much.
Delete"vast unused rural spaces" seems to sum up all government attitudes to anything not already obliterated by buildings of one form or another.
ReplyDeleteAcross the pond in the UK government sees all such places as homes to useless solar farms (the UK is second-last worst location for solar, so go figure!) instead of productive agriculture, and any upland area as suitable only to be covered by equally useless windmills, despoiling all our historic views.
And all to give us electricity at the wrong times and in the wrong places.
I guess I did not realize that this was a world wide issue, Will. So why the sudden demand for these.? What are you being told about that?
DeleteEvidently you are unaware of the fact that chickens will attack and eat scorpions! They are not afraid of house cats!
ReplyDeleteI don't understand these data centers either ... it would seem we did very well without them! I don't think they will make anything easier for anyone!
I just think they need to be explained. The fact that they are being shoved down our throats, at the same time we have the powers that be insisting they should be deregulated does nor sit well with me at all.
Deletegood quote!
ReplyDeleteAnd why do those who rinse and spit think they know everything?
DeleteWhat are vast, unused rural spaces? Might that be a magat description for farms? I don't understand the need for the data centers that need a ton of water. Do the unused rural spaces have a lot of water available? I doubt it when we're having droughts in so many parts of the U.S.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
I live in an area that doesn't have internet access. I know we do not have the utilities in place for an operation like this. Drought is a real concern. The weather patterns are wild. This year we got plenty of water. A few years back our drought was so severe that you could see the roads and streets signs from the towns at the bottom of the reservoir. What happens then?
DeleteHow strangely fascinating to see towns in a reservoir. Have the houses all rotted away or do some still stand as if they're waiting for their people to return? I hope they weren't demolished.
DeleteI think we need to know a lot about why we need them and the resources they will gobble up such as water. The MAGAt governor of my state is ready to let them be built all over our state and the MAGAt rep of my county told them to come here! We have a good opponent for the rep in the mid-terms, hoping that particular MAGAt is soon gone.
ReplyDeleteI think all of us are just holding our breath about these midterms.
DeleteGosh… I don’t know what to think. I do find some AI quite helpful with my failing memory. But with too much AI, I start thinking about Terminator and other dystopian scenarios.
ReplyDeleteIs that you understanding of them? That we need them for more AI? If that is what this is all about, the last thing we need to be doing is deregulating them.
DeleteI do not disagree with a thing you said here.
ReplyDeleteA flock of hens is a mighty force, isn't it?
It is just funny to watch them...if they are uncertain about something they move away en masse. Once the decide it is nothing to be alarmed at, they return, still en masse.
DeleteThis is happening in Canada too especially in rural areas where the lure of a little money to the local economy (while corporations profit exponentially) is typically the deciding factor, but people here are pushing back too.
ReplyDeleteWhat are you being told their purpose is?
DeleteEvery business or service used to manage and store their own data, and that seemed to work well enough. There is plenty of push back against data centres here, their location up to a point, but mostly the energy and water they require.
ReplyDeleteI hope you are having fun with your fowl.
DeleteMy biggest concern is why suddenly there is such great demand for them. This leads to an awful lot of questions which are not being answered. The other thing is that rural Pennsylvania does not typically have sufficient utilities to support this kind of energy, which McGaŕity tells us will lead to improved utilities. Who will pay for that, I wonder?
DeleteOh they certainly are entertaining.
ReplyDeleteI can't find the source again, but I had a really good graphic showing that the US has more data centers than the rest of the world combined. What the heck are they doing in there?
ReplyDeleteThat is the part that really, really bugs me. Why is information so hard to come by?
Delete