#aisucks — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #aisucks, aggregated by home.social.
-
The latest tech billboard trend? Anti-AI graffiti
Spray-painted screeds have popped up across the city.
by Natallie Rocha
Published Sep. 2, 2026https://sfstandard.com/2026/09/02/anti-ai-billboard-graffiti/
-
#Texas Gov. #GregAbbott on #AIDataCenter Backlash: 'They Dug Their Own Grave'
Jennifer Oliver O'Connell, August 23, 2026
"#NewYork Gov. #KathyHochul (D) and #Kentucky Gov. #AndyBeshear (D) have pushed back against the expansion of #AIDataCenters in their respective states. But with the increasing backlash from communities and individuals toward new #datacenter construction and expansion, even governors that have embraced the #AIRevolution, like #Pennsylvania's #JoshShapiro (D), are now moderating and talking about scaling back.
"Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) is one governor whose state has embraced the data center expansion. In November 2025, Abbott declared that Texas is the 'epicenter of AI development' in his announcement of #Google building three data center campuses to the tune of $40 million dollars.
"Fast forward to August of 2026, and Abbott acknowledges that much of the community resistance to the construction of new and existing data centers is the fault of the AI companies."
[...]
"Abbott is not wrong. According to a report from #DataCenterWatch, 64 billion in data center projects have been blocked or delayed in #Arizona, #Utah, #Missouri, #Oregon, and #California, to name a few. Even formerly friendly #Virginia is pushing back. #CommunityOpposition surrounds the lack of information provided and the lack of accountability taken towards the citizens who will be most affected.
"Water and power concerns loom large. Many of the newer development concepts, like entrepreneur #KevinOLeary 's 9 megawatt #StratosProject in #Utah, will have their own self-sustaining water and power systems. However, this did not prevent the backlash by #environmentalists and local activists to shut the Stratos Project down, and Utah state lawmakers ultimately backpedaled from their original approval and requested O'Leary cut the project's 400,000-acre footprint down to 10,000, about 75 percent. "
#AISucks #AIDataCenters #AIResistance #USPol #WorldPol #Datacenters #Datacentres #AIDatacentres #WaterIsLife #NoisePollution #LandIsLife #EnergyConsumption
-
Hmmmm... Something both the right and left can agree on! 🤖
‘I’ve Never Seen This’: Massive Collapse in Support for #AIDataCenters Captured in New Poll
“If you can think of a cohort of Americans, there’s a good chance they wouldn’t welcome a #datacenter in their area.”
Brad Reed, Aug 20, 2026
"A poll released on Thursday shows a massive collapse in support for building #ArtificialIntelligence #DataCenters among #Republican, #Democratic, and #IndependentVoters.
"The poll, which was conducted by Embold Research and published by Heatmap Pro, shows that 75% of Americans now oppose building AI data centers in their area, including 61% registering strong opposition."
"Just one year before, 42% of Americans said they opposed AI data centers in their areas, compared with 43% who expressed support."
Read more:
https://www.commondreams.org/news/data-center-poll-collapse#NoDatacenters #NoAIDatacenters #AISucks #USElections #USPol #Elections2026 #NoisePollution #WaterPollution #LandIsLife #WaterIsLife #CommonGround
-
What Do Students Lose When They Stop Writing?
Educators are worried that many students can no longer write essays without #AI . And it’s costing more than just grammar skills.
By Dana Goldstein
Aug. 17, 2026Excerpt: "A growing number of educators are alarmed, and insist that students should write without A.I. These teachers are returning to #handwriting, #BlueBooks and proctored, in-class essay tests — all attempts to prevent students from outsourcing their writing to #chatbots.
"This is baffling to tech industry leaders, who see A.I. rejection as a form of educational malpractice. They point out that writing is already the leading use of A.I. in the workplace, and argue there is no need to continue suffering through the task without help. After all, they say, chatbots now exceed the ability of most human beings to produce fluent prose.
"All this points to some questions about writing itself: Why work so hard to learn it? And what do students stand to lose when they stop facing down a blank page, alone with their thoughts?"Read more:
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/17/us/student-writing-essays-ai.htmlArchived version:
https://archive.ph/TGoVV#CriticalThinkingSkills #TheBlankPage #AISucks #DumbingUsDown #Enshittification #Proctoring #InClassEssays
-
#SamAltman and others at #OpenAI are trying wicked hard to convince folks that they're all about saving #Nature... Buying #JackieAndShadow's home and now this... Um, sorry Sam and friends. It doesn't make up for the #NoisePollution, #WaterPollution, pollution from #EnergyConsumption , etc. for the #AIHouseOfCards... But folks are seeing right through that!
#OpenAI flew influencers to a #NatureResort to fix its image. The internet called it #greenwashing.
OpenAI flew a group of influencers to a $2,000-a-night wellness resort to warm up the public mood around #AI. Days before a reported $500bn #Datacentre deal, the internet called it greenwashing, and the creators got the backlash.
August 4, 2026
"The event, branded 'Summer Camp,' ran at Wildflower Farms, a resort in New York’s #HudsonValley where rooms can top $2,000 a night, Business Insider reported. Creators posted farm-to-table dinners under bistro lights, a beekeeping session, and classes on OpenAI’s tools. They went home with branded canvas bags and jars of honey.
"The videos were soft-focus and lighthearted. The comments were not. Across TikTok, Reddit, X and Instagram, people called the trip 'dystopian' and accused OpenAI of greenwashing. One commenter told TechCrunch the issue was timing: '#TheWorldIsOnFire. It’s not a great time to brag about your $5,000-a-night suite.' "
Read more:
https://thenextweb.com/news/openai-summer-camp-influencer-retreat-greenwashing-backlash#NoDatacenters #TheWorldIsBurning #USPol #AISucks #BigPower #BigData #ResistDataCenters #PowerCorruptionAndLies #AIDatacenters
-
#Kansas town is getting an underground #nuclear reactor [whether they like it or not!]
Story by Jessie Williams, July 29, 2026
"A pilot project to bury a #NuclearReactor one mile underneath a town in Kansas has split the opinion of local residents, with some fearing the #EnvironmentalImpacts while others hope it will create economic opportunities.
"The so-called #GravityReactor is being proposed by #DeepFission, a California-based start-up from a father-daughter duo, #LizMuller and #RichardMuller, emeritus professor of physics at University of California, and an inventor.
"It will be the first time a commercial nuclear reactor operates underground.
"The startup has raised around $150 million in the past year, with $40 million of that going to fund the work in #ParsonsKS, a rural town in Kansas with a population of 9,600.
"So far Deep Fission has drilled one test hole with a second due to be completed this year, and a full-scale prototype canister intended to test installation procedures.
"Their plan is to send the canister loaded with nuclear fuel into a third hole to heat water a mile underground and generate electricity on the surface in 2027 or 2028.
"But some people in Parsons are worried about the short time frame by industry standards and the impact on the #environment and their #WaterSupply.
"Each reactor would generate 15 megawatts of electricity from inside a 30-inch borehole, enough to power 12,000 homes. But Muller wants 100 or more reactors, providing more than a gigawatt – which would be enough for a #datacentre.
"The design relies on established pressurised water reactor technology, but with the reactor one mile underground, Deep Fission says it could remove some of the most expensive parts of conventional #NuclearPlants, as rock and water pressure could replace some costly #safety structures, such as #cooling and #containment.
"Nuclear only generates about a fifth of US electricity, but the Trump administration is seeking to kickstart a '#NuclearRenaissance,' aiming to quadruple America’s nuclear-power generation by 2050. It comes amid skyrocketing demand for electricity, mainly driven by data centres for AI."
#NoNukesForAI #AISucks #TrumpSucks #USPol #AIDatacenters #Datacenters #NoNukes #NoNewNukes #WaterIsLife #NuclearPowerPlant #SafetyStandards #EnvironmentalCosts
-
From 2023... #TechExecs protect their kids from their own products. America’s children deserve the same
While #BigTech fights regulations that would protect children, its leaders apply a different standard for their own offspring.
BY Katie A. Paul, 5/24/2023
Excerpt: "As detailed in news reports in recent years, members of the tech elite have directed their nannies to keep their kids away from #AddictiveScreens and sent their kids to a private San Francisco school with a strict no-screens policy. 'I just wanted our kids to have a #TechnologyFree start, so that they would be playing and running around and picking up leaves and getting dirty, rather than sitting inside and watching a screen,' said one parent.
"This attitude extends to the C-suite. Susan Wojcicki, who recently stepped down as YouTube CEO, admitted in 2017 that she sometimes confiscated her kids’ phones. Google’s chief executive, Sundar Pichai, revealed in 2018 that his 11-year-old son did not have a phone. The following year, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg explained that he didn’t want his young children sitting in front of a computer 'for a long period of time.'
"One former Facebook executive, Chamath Palihapitiya, put it more bluntly, saying that he felt 'tremendous guilt' about helping to build the social network and that his children 'aren’t allowed to use that shit.'
"These admissions have been largely forgotten with the speed of the news cycle over the past five years. But taken together, they reveal an industry that tries to shield its kids from the dangers of technology—while touting the very same products for everyone else. It begs the question: Why shouldn’t America’s young people receive the same levels of protection that Silicon Valley parents provide for their own?
While tech executives have gone quieter lately on the subject of how they regulate tech use for their offspring, there are signs that they continue to harbor private doubts about the products they market to the world. When tech-focused publication The Information surveyed more than 1,000 subscribers last year, it found that 'Silicon Valley’s children spend far less time on screens than the average American kid.'
[...]
By trying to shield their kids from the ill effects of the products they make, tech leaders are following a pattern seen in industries like #BigTobacco, whose executives, in congressional testimony 25 years ago, conceded that they didn’t want their children to smoke."
Read more:
https://www.fastcompany.com/90900166/tech-social-media-protection-children#NoPhones #TechAddiction #BigTech #TakeThePhonesAway #BigData #SpendTimeInNature #AISucks #MoreGreenTimeLessScreenTime
-
#Mississippi homeowners blame a noisy #DataCenter plant for sleepless nights. The mayor's advice? "Consider selling."
By Lauren Fichten, July 16, 2026
"It was 4 a.m. on a Sunday and 46-year-old Jason Haley was once again wide awake.
"The suburban silence that Haley had grown used to in his two decades as a resident of #SouthavenMS, had, for the last few months, been replaced by a constant whirring, like an airplane hovering over his home, he said.
"The noise keeping Haley awake was coming from a plant powering #ElonMusk's #xAI #datacenters in the area, according to a lawsuit filed in June against the company and its subsidiary, #MZXTech. Haley and two other #Southaven residents, who live within a mile of the plant, allege in the suit that 'near-constant' noise and vibrations are causing negative physical and psychological health effects.
"The filing comes amid growing #resistance toward data center development, with the majority of Americans opposing local construction of a data center, according to a Gallup poll published earlier this year.
"Similar disputes are playing out across the country, like in #MountPleasantWI, where a lawsuit this month filed by residents alleges a data center emits 'unreasonable and excessive noise' onto residents' properties and in #LowellMA [a city with a large #Latino population -- #EnvironmentalRacism], where noise from a data center's cooling center 'disrupts neighbors' sleep,' according to an April suit.
"There are more than 4,000 data centers in the U.S., according to a recent United Nations report. To power the data centers, developers are building their own plants, sometimes with little warning to residents like Haley.
"Haley reached out to Southaven Mayor Darren Musselwhite about the noise in emails he shared with CBS News. In one last November, he urged Musselwhite to drive through the neighborhood 'and take a listen to the constant #HighPitch noises.' "
" 'I am aware of the noise and working on a solution with xAI officials,' Musselwhite had responded to Haley an hour later. 'It is a problem,' he said in another email later in the day.
"But soon, another sleepless night rolled around and Haley was emailing the mayor again.
""Anyone else I can reach out to?" Haley wrote to Musselwhite. "It's almost 4 am and I can hear it from my bed. The high pitch and roaring combined is full force at this time. My ears are ringing. I can't live in this. How was this ever approved?"
[In a later email, this was Musselwhite's response] "I know they want houses for employees, so you may want to consider selling your home." 😡
Read more:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mississippi-elon-musk-xai-data-center-power-plant-noise/#ElonSucks #BigDataSucks #NoisePollution #BigData
#CorporateColonialism #WaterIsLife #LandIsLife #AirIsLife #USPol
#AISucks #DatacenterMoratorium
#AIDatacenters #EnvironmentalRacism
#PreyingOnThePoor #EnergyVampires #ResistAI -
#Georgia family says they're forced to sell home to help power #AIDatacenters: "It's theft"
By Shannon Luibrand
Updated on: July 13, 2026"Sell your home, or the state will take it — that's the ultimatum some homeowners in Georgia say they are facing amid the AI boom.
"Utility giant #GeorgiaPower is planning to build a new transmission line to in part help power new #datacenters. It estimates 70-80% of the power on the new line will help serve data centers and the remaining 20-30% of power will serve the state's growing residential and commercial demand.
"According to the company, increasing demand has outpaced the capacity of its existing grid and building a new transmission line requires acquiring more than 300 parcels of land, including residential properties.
"Ansley Brown's childhood home that she said was built when she was 5 or 6 years old is just one of the properties impacted.
" 'It's ours,' she told CBS News. 'It's our family. We belong here.'
"Her mother wanted the property to serve as 'true generational wealth,' Brown said, adding that now 'it's being stripped from us.'
"Brown's mother recently came to an agreement with Georgia Power to sell. If she didn't, Brown said the utility could have sought to acquire the property through #EminentDomain — which is a legal process that allows private property to be taken, with compensation, for projects determined to serve a public purpose.
" 'To us it's theft. It's literally a billion dollar company stealing land from smaller people, people who can't fight back. We don't have the money to fight Georgia Power,' Brown said.
"Holly Lovett, a spokesperson for Georgia Power, said eminent domain 'is always … a last resort for us and it's something we never want to do.'
"The company said it feels as if it's done the process responsibly, but Brown disagrees.
" 'You can't tear down 35 miles of rural Georgia and it not hurt something or somebody. And to say that you're doing it in the name of data centers is a slap in the face to us, our community, our animals,' she said.
"A few months ago Brown took her story to TikTok and began sharing stories of others in similar situations. She said that while she knows it's too late to save her home, she doesn't want to see this happen to others."
Read more:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/georgia-power-ai-data-centers-eminent-domain/ -
Oh look. Our #BigTechOverlords don't want us to diss their #AISucks technology!
US law enforcement warns of “#AntiTech extremism” as #AIHatred grows
The feds are raising the alarm about a new category of threat.
Daniel Boguslaw, WIRED.com – May 27, 2026
Excerpt: "In the wake of attacks on CEOs, a nationwide protest movement targeting data centers, and increasing concerns about AI job replacement, federal intelligence agencies and domestic law enforcement are circulating reports with a new domestic target in mind: #AntiTechnologyExtremists.
"More than 1,000 pages of unpublished reports from the Department of Homeland Security, FBI, and fusion centers obtained by WIRED show a national shift taking place to surveil this new and worryingly broad category of people and activities deemed an emerging threat.
"This new effort follows President Donald Trump’s National Security Presidential Memo 7, which instructs the Department of Justice to target anyone holding '#AntiAmerican,' '#AntiChristian,' and '#AntiCapitalism' beliefs. Earlier this month, #Trump’s counterterrorism czar, #SebastianGorka, released a public counterterrorism strategy claiming that left-wing extremists are one of the three top counterterrorism priorities facing the United States.
"Taken together, these Trump administration directives have commandeered the domestic surveillance apparatus to surveil and criminalize speech and assembly that challenges the ideology of the White House. A new focus on anti-technology extremism adds an unreported category to already public designations under a presidency that has heavily invested political and material capital in #AI and #datacenter proliferation.
"Among the documents in the tranche obtained by WIRED is a New York Intelligence and Counterterrorism Bureau report that warns of widespread upheaval in response to AI adoption. Of particular note is a novel term for what the bureau purports to be an emerging extremism threat."
#ResistAI #DatacenterMortoriums #SurveillanceState #BigTechBrother #TechnoFascism #PoliceState #USPol #LowTech #NoTech #TrebuchetTime #TechOverlords #AIResistance #ExhumingMcCarthy #SilencingDissent
-
#BrunswickME considers pause on #datacenter proposals
There will be a public hearing on the proposed moratorium on June 1.
by Katie Langley, Posted May 19, 2026, Updated May 20
"Brunswick is among several Maine municipalities considering moratoriums on large-scale data centers after Gov. #JanetMills vetoed a bill that would have temporarily restricted such developments.
"At a Monday night meeting, Brunswick’s town councilors set a June 1 public hearing on the proposed moratorium. If passed, the moratorium would give the town 180 days to gather information on the impact of data centers and set regulations on their development.
"The drafted moratorium closely mirrors other temporary policies being considered in towns and cities including #WestbrookME, which uses the same law firm as Brunswick.
"Town councilors on Monday removed a section in the draft moratorium that defined data centers as having a gross floor area of at least 10,000 square feet or electrical capacities of at least 20 megawatts. Instead, data center projects with an electrical capacity of 1 megawatt or more would be prohibited during the moratorium period.
"Brunswick has an existing, smaller-scale data center on #BrunswickLanding, owned by internet company #FirstLight, that town leaders have said has not been an issue and does not store artificial intelligence data.
"Town Manager Julia Henze said Monday night that there are no proposals for data centers on the horizon for Brunswick, but a moratorium would give the council time to update town ordinances and be prepared for such projects.
"Other municipalities, including #SanfordME and #ScarboroughME, are considering data center moratoriums in response to already proposed projects."
Read more:
https://www.pressherald.com/2026/05/20/brunswick-considers-pause-on-data-center-proposals/Archived version:
https://archive.md/tt3nk#ResistBigData #MaineResists
#MainePol #DatacenterMoratoriums #DatacentersSuck #Datacenters #NoisePollution #WaterIsLife #EnergyConsumption #AISucks -
#BrunswickME considers pause on #datacenter proposals
There will be a public hearing on the proposed moratorium on June 1.
by Katie Langley, Posted May 19, 2026, Updated May 20
"Brunswick is among several Maine municipalities considering moratoriums on large-scale data centers after Gov. #JanetMills vetoed a bill that would have temporarily restricted such developments.
"At a Monday night meeting, Brunswick’s town councilors set a June 1 public hearing on the proposed moratorium. If passed, the moratorium would give the town 180 days to gather information on the impact of data centers and set regulations on their development.
"The drafted moratorium closely mirrors other temporary policies being considered in towns and cities including #WestbrookME, which uses the same law firm as Brunswick.
"Town councilors on Monday removed a section in the draft moratorium that defined data centers as having a gross floor area of at least 10,000 square feet or electrical capacities of at least 20 megawatts. Instead, data center projects with an electrical capacity of 1 megawatt or more would be prohibited during the moratorium period.
"Brunswick has an existing, smaller-scale data center on #BrunswickLanding, owned by internet company #FirstLight, that town leaders have said has not been an issue and does not store artificial intelligence data.
"Town Manager Julia Henze said Monday night that there are no proposals for data centers on the horizon for Brunswick, but a moratorium would give the council time to update town ordinances and be prepared for such projects.
"Other municipalities, including #SanfordME and #ScarboroughME, are considering data center moratoriums in response to already proposed projects."
Read more:
https://www.pressherald.com/2026/05/20/brunswick-considers-pause-on-data-center-proposals/Archived version:
https://archive.md/tt3nk#ResistBigData #MaineResists
#MainePol #DatacenterMoratoriums #DatacentersSuck #Datacenters #NoisePollution #WaterIsLife #EnergyConsumption #AISucks -
#BrunswickME considers pause on #datacenter proposals
There will be a public hearing on the proposed moratorium on June 1.
by Katie Langley, Posted May 19, 2026, Updated May 20
"Brunswick is among several Maine municipalities considering moratoriums on large-scale data centers after Gov. #JanetMills vetoed a bill that would have temporarily restricted such developments.
"At a Monday night meeting, Brunswick’s town councilors set a June 1 public hearing on the proposed moratorium. If passed, the moratorium would give the town 180 days to gather information on the impact of data centers and set regulations on their development.
"The drafted moratorium closely mirrors other temporary policies being considered in towns and cities including #WestbrookME, which uses the same law firm as Brunswick.
"Town councilors on Monday removed a section in the draft moratorium that defined data centers as having a gross floor area of at least 10,000 square feet or electrical capacities of at least 20 megawatts. Instead, data center projects with an electrical capacity of 1 megawatt or more would be prohibited during the moratorium period.
"Brunswick has an existing, smaller-scale data center on #BrunswickLanding, owned by internet company #FirstLight, that town leaders have said has not been an issue and does not store artificial intelligence data.
"Town Manager Julia Henze said Monday night that there are no proposals for data centers on the horizon for Brunswick, but a moratorium would give the council time to update town ordinances and be prepared for such projects.
"Other municipalities, including #SanfordME and #ScarboroughME, are considering data center moratoriums in response to already proposed projects."
Read more:
https://www.pressherald.com/2026/05/20/brunswick-considers-pause-on-data-center-proposals/Archived version:
https://archive.md/tt3nk#ResistBigData #MaineResists
#MainePol #DatacenterMoratoriums #DatacentersSuck #Datacenters #NoisePollution #WaterIsLife #EnergyConsumption #AISucks -
#BrunswickME considers pause on #datacenter proposals
There will be a public hearing on the proposed moratorium on June 1.
by Katie Langley, Posted May 19, 2026, Updated May 20
"Brunswick is among several Maine municipalities considering moratoriums on large-scale data centers after Gov. #JanetMills vetoed a bill that would have temporarily restricted such developments.
"At a Monday night meeting, Brunswick’s town councilors set a June 1 public hearing on the proposed moratorium. If passed, the moratorium would give the town 180 days to gather information on the impact of data centers and set regulations on their development.
"The drafted moratorium closely mirrors other temporary policies being considered in towns and cities including #WestbrookME, which uses the same law firm as Brunswick.
"Town councilors on Monday removed a section in the draft moratorium that defined data centers as having a gross floor area of at least 10,000 square feet or electrical capacities of at least 20 megawatts. Instead, data center projects with an electrical capacity of 1 megawatt or more would be prohibited during the moratorium period.
"Brunswick has an existing, smaller-scale data center on #BrunswickLanding, owned by internet company #FirstLight, that town leaders have said has not been an issue and does not store artificial intelligence data.
"Town Manager Julia Henze said Monday night that there are no proposals for data centers on the horizon for Brunswick, but a moratorium would give the council time to update town ordinances and be prepared for such projects.
"Other municipalities, including #SanfordME and #ScarboroughME, are considering data center moratoriums in response to already proposed projects."
Read more:
https://www.pressherald.com/2026/05/20/brunswick-considers-pause-on-data-center-proposals/Archived version:
https://archive.md/tt3nk#ResistBigData #MaineResists
#MainePol #DatacenterMoratoriums #DatacentersSuck #Datacenters #NoisePollution #WaterIsLife #EnergyConsumption #AISucks -
#BrunswickME considers pause on #datacenter proposals
There will be a public hearing on the proposed moratorium on June 1.
by Katie Langley, Posted May 19, 2026, Updated May 20
"Brunswick is among several Maine municipalities considering moratoriums on large-scale data centers after Gov. #JanetMills vetoed a bill that would have temporarily restricted such developments.
"At a Monday night meeting, Brunswick’s town councilors set a June 1 public hearing on the proposed moratorium. If passed, the moratorium would give the town 180 days to gather information on the impact of data centers and set regulations on their development.
"The drafted moratorium closely mirrors other temporary policies being considered in towns and cities including #WestbrookME, which uses the same law firm as Brunswick.
"Town councilors on Monday removed a section in the draft moratorium that defined data centers as having a gross floor area of at least 10,000 square feet or electrical capacities of at least 20 megawatts. Instead, data center projects with an electrical capacity of 1 megawatt or more would be prohibited during the moratorium period.
"Brunswick has an existing, smaller-scale data center on #BrunswickLanding, owned by internet company #FirstLight, that town leaders have said has not been an issue and does not store artificial intelligence data.
"Town Manager Julia Henze said Monday night that there are no proposals for data centers on the horizon for Brunswick, but a moratorium would give the council time to update town ordinances and be prepared for such projects.
"Other municipalities, including #SanfordME and #ScarboroughME, are considering data center moratoriums in response to already proposed projects."
Read more:
https://www.pressherald.com/2026/05/20/brunswick-considers-pause-on-data-center-proposals/Archived version:
https://archive.md/tt3nk#ResistBigData #MaineResists
#MainePol #DatacenterMoratoriums #DatacentersSuck #Datacenters #NoisePollution #WaterIsLife #EnergyConsumption #AISucks -
#WestbrookME considers moratorium on #AIDataCenters as debate grows across #Maine
Story by Drew Peters, 5/18/2026
"The Westbrook City Council is expected to decide Monday whether to temporarily halt new #Datacenter development as communities across Maine continue weighing the benefits and risks tied to the growing artificial intelligence industry.
"The proposal would create a 180-day moratorium on new data center projects in Westbrook. City leaders said the pause would give officials time to update ordinances and better understand how large-scale facilities could impact the city’s electric grid, water supply, and taxpayers.
"The discussion comes as Maine communities increasingly debate the future of AI-related infrastructure. Last month, Gov. #JanetMills vetoed a bill that would have imposed a statewide moratorium on data centers.
" 'This is a subject that has the potential to destroy our community,' Westbrook resident Marnie Ward said ahead of the meeting.
"Ward said she has followed reports of data center development in other parts of the country and worries promises made by developers may not always be fulfilled.
" 'Places where companies have promised to put in things like their own electrical generation and they don’t do it,' Ward said.
"She questioned whether the economic benefits outweigh the environmental and infrastructure costs.
" 'What’s the benefit, and does the benefit of having one of these data centers outweigh the costs it’s going to be?' Ward said.
"Mayor David Morse said the proposed moratorium is intended to help the city prepare before a project proposal arrives."
#ResistBigData #MaineResists
#MainePol #DatacenterMoratoriums #DatacentersSuck #Datacenters #NoisePollution #WaterIsLife #EnergyConsumption #AISucks -
#WestbrookME considers moratorium on #AIDataCenters as debate grows across #Maine
Story by Drew Peters, 5/18/2026
"The Westbrook City Council is expected to decide Monday whether to temporarily halt new #Datacenter development as communities across Maine continue weighing the benefits and risks tied to the growing artificial intelligence industry.
"The proposal would create a 180-day moratorium on new data center projects in Westbrook. City leaders said the pause would give officials time to update ordinances and better understand how large-scale facilities could impact the city’s electric grid, water supply, and taxpayers.
"The discussion comes as Maine communities increasingly debate the future of AI-related infrastructure. Last month, Gov. #JanetMills vetoed a bill that would have imposed a statewide moratorium on data centers.
" 'This is a subject that has the potential to destroy our community,' Westbrook resident Marnie Ward said ahead of the meeting.
"Ward said she has followed reports of data center development in other parts of the country and worries promises made by developers may not always be fulfilled.
" 'Places where companies have promised to put in things like their own electrical generation and they don’t do it,' Ward said.
"She questioned whether the economic benefits outweigh the environmental and infrastructure costs.
" 'What’s the benefit, and does the benefit of having one of these data centers outweigh the costs it’s going to be?' Ward said.
"Mayor David Morse said the proposed moratorium is intended to help the city prepare before a project proposal arrives."
#ResistBigData #MaineResists
#MainePol #DatacenterMoratoriums #DatacentersSuck #Datacenters #NoisePollution #WaterIsLife #EnergyConsumption #AISucks -
#WestbrookME considers moratorium on #AIDataCenters as debate grows across #Maine
Story by Drew Peters, 5/18/2026
"The Westbrook City Council is expected to decide Monday whether to temporarily halt new #Datacenter development as communities across Maine continue weighing the benefits and risks tied to the growing artificial intelligence industry.
"The proposal would create a 180-day moratorium on new data center projects in Westbrook. City leaders said the pause would give officials time to update ordinances and better understand how large-scale facilities could impact the city’s electric grid, water supply, and taxpayers.
"The discussion comes as Maine communities increasingly debate the future of AI-related infrastructure. Last month, Gov. #JanetMills vetoed a bill that would have imposed a statewide moratorium on data centers.
" 'This is a subject that has the potential to destroy our community,' Westbrook resident Marnie Ward said ahead of the meeting.
"Ward said she has followed reports of data center development in other parts of the country and worries promises made by developers may not always be fulfilled.
" 'Places where companies have promised to put in things like their own electrical generation and they don’t do it,' Ward said.
"She questioned whether the economic benefits outweigh the environmental and infrastructure costs.
" 'What’s the benefit, and does the benefit of having one of these data centers outweigh the costs it’s going to be?' Ward said.
"Mayor David Morse said the proposed moratorium is intended to help the city prepare before a project proposal arrives."
#ResistBigData #MaineResists
#MainePol #DatacenterMoratoriums #DatacentersSuck #Datacenters #NoisePollution #WaterIsLife #EnergyConsumption #AISucks -
#WestbrookME considers moratorium on #AIDataCenters as debate grows across #Maine
Story by Drew Peters, 5/18/2026
"The Westbrook City Council is expected to decide Monday whether to temporarily halt new #Datacenter development as communities across Maine continue weighing the benefits and risks tied to the growing artificial intelligence industry.
"The proposal would create a 180-day moratorium on new data center projects in Westbrook. City leaders said the pause would give officials time to update ordinances and better understand how large-scale facilities could impact the city’s electric grid, water supply, and taxpayers.
"The discussion comes as Maine communities increasingly debate the future of AI-related infrastructure. Last month, Gov. #JanetMills vetoed a bill that would have imposed a statewide moratorium on data centers.
" 'This is a subject that has the potential to destroy our community,' Westbrook resident Marnie Ward said ahead of the meeting.
"Ward said she has followed reports of data center development in other parts of the country and worries promises made by developers may not always be fulfilled.
" 'Places where companies have promised to put in things like their own electrical generation and they don’t do it,' Ward said.
"She questioned whether the economic benefits outweigh the environmental and infrastructure costs.
" 'What’s the benefit, and does the benefit of having one of these data centers outweigh the costs it’s going to be?' Ward said.
"Mayor David Morse said the proposed moratorium is intended to help the city prepare before a project proposal arrives."
#ResistBigData #MaineResists
#MainePol #DatacenterMoratoriums #DatacentersSuck #Datacenters #NoisePollution #WaterIsLife #EnergyConsumption #AISucks -
#WestbrookME considers moratorium on #AIDataCenters as debate grows across #Maine
Story by Drew Peters, 5/18/2026
"The Westbrook City Council is expected to decide Monday whether to temporarily halt new #Datacenter development as communities across Maine continue weighing the benefits and risks tied to the growing artificial intelligence industry.
"The proposal would create a 180-day moratorium on new data center projects in Westbrook. City leaders said the pause would give officials time to update ordinances and better understand how large-scale facilities could impact the city’s electric grid, water supply, and taxpayers.
"The discussion comes as Maine communities increasingly debate the future of AI-related infrastructure. Last month, Gov. #JanetMills vetoed a bill that would have imposed a statewide moratorium on data centers.
" 'This is a subject that has the potential to destroy our community,' Westbrook resident Marnie Ward said ahead of the meeting.
"Ward said she has followed reports of data center development in other parts of the country and worries promises made by developers may not always be fulfilled.
" 'Places where companies have promised to put in things like their own electrical generation and they don’t do it,' Ward said.
"She questioned whether the economic benefits outweigh the environmental and infrastructure costs.
" 'What’s the benefit, and does the benefit of having one of these data centers outweigh the costs it’s going to be?' Ward said.
"Mayor David Morse said the proposed moratorium is intended to help the city prepare before a project proposal arrives."
#ResistBigData #MaineResists
#MainePol #DatacenterMoratoriums #DatacentersSuck #Datacenters #NoisePollution #WaterIsLife #EnergyConsumption #AISucks -
#JanetMills vetoed a #DataCenter pause. Towns are looking to pass their own.
At least four municipalities have proposed their own moratoriums on new data center development while they refine local regulations.
by Daniel Kool, May 18, 2026
"Without a statewide moratorium on large data center development, a patchwork of local laws appears to be forming in #Maine.
"Weeks after Gov. Janet Mills vetoed a bill to temporarily restrict permitting for new data centers of 20 megawatts or more, at least four towns and cities are considering enacting their own moratoriums. The local pauses are designed to give officials time to review their zoning rules and develop new regulations for large data centers — should they ever come to town.
"Some, like those in Sanford and Scarborough, come as developers have already proposed building data centers in town. Others, like in Brunswick and Westbrook, are designed to get ahead of potential data center construction. All four communities plan to discuss their proposals at meetings this week.
"Though these local proposals have taken on new urgency in a lieu of a broader moratorium, they are not the first of their kind. The Bangor City Council unanimously passed a city-wide pause in April, days before Mills shot down the statewide effort. Anne Krieg, the town’s director of development, said they 'didn’t want to wait for the state,' as development pressure mounted."
Archived version:
https://archive.md/gSis4#ResistBigData #MaineResists #MainePol #DatacenterMoratoriums #BangorME #ScarboroughME #SanfordME #BrunswickME #WestbrookME #DatacentersSuck #NoisePollution #WaterIsLife #EnergyConsumption #AISucks
-
#JanetMills vetoed a #DataCenter pause. Towns are looking to pass their own.
At least four municipalities have proposed their own moratoriums on new data center development while they refine local regulations.
by Daniel Kool, May 18, 2026
"Without a statewide moratorium on large data center development, a patchwork of local laws appears to be forming in #Maine.
"Weeks after Gov. Janet Mills vetoed a bill to temporarily restrict permitting for new data centers of 20 megawatts or more, at least four towns and cities are considering enacting their own moratoriums. The local pauses are designed to give officials time to review their zoning rules and develop new regulations for large data centers — should they ever come to town.
"Some, like those in Sanford and Scarborough, come as developers have already proposed building data centers in town. Others, like in Brunswick and Westbrook, are designed to get ahead of potential data center construction. All four communities plan to discuss their proposals at meetings this week.
"Though these local proposals have taken on new urgency in a lieu of a broader moratorium, they are not the first of their kind. The Bangor City Council unanimously passed a city-wide pause in April, days before Mills shot down the statewide effort. Anne Krieg, the town’s director of development, said they 'didn’t want to wait for the state,' as development pressure mounted."
Archived version:
https://archive.md/gSis4#ResistBigData #MaineResists #MainePol #DatacenterMoratoriums #BangorME #ScarboroughME #SanfordME #BrunswickME #WestbrookME #DatacentersSuck #NoisePollution #WaterIsLife #EnergyConsumption #AISucks
-
#JanetMills vetoed a #DataCenter pause. Towns are looking to pass their own.
At least four municipalities have proposed their own moratoriums on new data center development while they refine local regulations.
by Daniel Kool, May 18, 2026
"Without a statewide moratorium on large data center development, a patchwork of local laws appears to be forming in #Maine.
"Weeks after Gov. Janet Mills vetoed a bill to temporarily restrict permitting for new data centers of 20 megawatts or more, at least four towns and cities are considering enacting their own moratoriums. The local pauses are designed to give officials time to review their zoning rules and develop new regulations for large data centers — should they ever come to town.
"Some, like those in Sanford and Scarborough, come as developers have already proposed building data centers in town. Others, like in Brunswick and Westbrook, are designed to get ahead of potential data center construction. All four communities plan to discuss their proposals at meetings this week.
"Though these local proposals have taken on new urgency in a lieu of a broader moratorium, they are not the first of their kind. The Bangor City Council unanimously passed a city-wide pause in April, days before Mills shot down the statewide effort. Anne Krieg, the town’s director of development, said they 'didn’t want to wait for the state,' as development pressure mounted."
Archived version:
https://archive.md/gSis4#ResistBigData #MaineResists #MainePol #DatacenterMoratoriums #BangorME #ScarboroughME #SanfordME #BrunswickME #WestbrookME #DatacentersSuck #NoisePollution #WaterIsLife #EnergyConsumption #AISucks
-
#JanetMills vetoed a #DataCenter pause. Towns are looking to pass their own.
At least four municipalities have proposed their own moratoriums on new data center development while they refine local regulations.
by Daniel Kool, May 18, 2026
"Without a statewide moratorium on large data center development, a patchwork of local laws appears to be forming in #Maine.
"Weeks after Gov. Janet Mills vetoed a bill to temporarily restrict permitting for new data centers of 20 megawatts or more, at least four towns and cities are considering enacting their own moratoriums. The local pauses are designed to give officials time to review their zoning rules and develop new regulations for large data centers — should they ever come to town.
"Some, like those in Sanford and Scarborough, come as developers have already proposed building data centers in town. Others, like in Brunswick and Westbrook, are designed to get ahead of potential data center construction. All four communities plan to discuss their proposals at meetings this week.
"Though these local proposals have taken on new urgency in a lieu of a broader moratorium, they are not the first of their kind. The Bangor City Council unanimously passed a city-wide pause in April, days before Mills shot down the statewide effort. Anne Krieg, the town’s director of development, said they 'didn’t want to wait for the state,' as development pressure mounted."
Archived version:
https://archive.md/gSis4#ResistBigData #MaineResists #MainePol #DatacenterMoratoriums #BangorME #ScarboroughME #SanfordME #BrunswickME #WestbrookME #DatacentersSuck #NoisePollution #WaterIsLife #EnergyConsumption #AISucks
-
#JanetMills vetoed a #DataCenter pause. Towns are looking to pass their own.
At least four municipalities have proposed their own moratoriums on new data center development while they refine local regulations.
by Daniel Kool, May 18, 2026
"Without a statewide moratorium on large data center development, a patchwork of local laws appears to be forming in #Maine.
"Weeks after Gov. Janet Mills vetoed a bill to temporarily restrict permitting for new data centers of 20 megawatts or more, at least four towns and cities are considering enacting their own moratoriums. The local pauses are designed to give officials time to review their zoning rules and develop new regulations for large data centers — should they ever come to town.
"Some, like those in Sanford and Scarborough, come as developers have already proposed building data centers in town. Others, like in Brunswick and Westbrook, are designed to get ahead of potential data center construction. All four communities plan to discuss their proposals at meetings this week.
"Though these local proposals have taken on new urgency in a lieu of a broader moratorium, they are not the first of their kind. The Bangor City Council unanimously passed a city-wide pause in April, days before Mills shot down the statewide effort. Anne Krieg, the town’s director of development, said they 'didn’t want to wait for the state,' as development pressure mounted."
Archived version:
https://archive.md/gSis4#ResistBigData #MaineResists #MainePol #DatacenterMoratoriums #BangorME #ScarboroughME #SanfordME #BrunswickME #WestbrookME #DatacentersSuck #NoisePollution #WaterIsLife #EnergyConsumption #AISucks
-
#AI could make humans less intelligent, warns Royal Observatory
Liv McMahon, May 18, 2026
Excerpt: "The rise of #AITools that instantly answer questions and complex problems could make humans less intelligent, the Royal Observatory Greenwich has warned.
"The Observatory, one of the UK's oldest purpose-built scientific institutions, is known for its contributions to astronomy.
Paddy Rodgers, director of the Royal Museums Greenwich group which oversees it, said its rich history of research showed the power of #HumanKnowledge and #curiosity - and the need to avoid 'complete dependence' on AI." 'A reliance solely on instant answers risks losing the habits of questioning and evaluation that underpin knowledge, expertise and innovation,' he said."
Read more:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c2023l60370oArchived version:
https://archive.ph/uNpW1#AISucks #DumbingUsDown #CriticalThinkingSkills #HumanIntelligence
-
Software #Developers Say #AI Is Rotting Their Brains
by Emanuel Maiberg, May 13, 2026
Excerpt: "The developers I talked to found AI useful for some tasks. Several developers said that it was good for experimentation, allowing them to quickly prototype an idea or to implement something in a domain they’re unfamiliar with. One developer said it was a good information interface. Specifically, he said, the AI helped him find where on the server a certain request is handled, summarize logs, or find documentation related to code changes.
"The problem all the developers I talked to agreed on is that the more they relied on AI to code, the more the skills they’ve honed for years deteriorated. This is by now a well studied phenomenon sometimes referred to as '#CognitiveDebt' or '#CognitiveAtrophy.' The idea is that people who use AI to automate certain parts of their job lose the ability to do those tasks well, therefore #DeSkilling themselves." 'I had some issues where I forgot how to implement a Laravel API and it scared the shit out of me. I went to university for this, I've been a software engineer for many years now and it feels like I am back before I ever wrote a single line of code,' the software developer at a small web design firm told me.
" 'It's making me dumber for sure,' the fintech software developer told me. “It's like when we got #cellphones and stopped remembering phone numbers, but it's grown to me mentally outsourcing ‘thinking’ in general. I feel my critical thinking and ability to sit and reason about a problem or a design has degraded because the all-knowing-dalai-llama is just a question away from giving me his take. And supposedly I tell myself ill just use it for inspiration but it ends up being my only thought. It gives you the illusion of productivity and expertise but at the end of the day you are more divorced from the output you submit than before.'
" 'When I was using it for code generation, I found myself having a lot of trouble building and maintaining a #MentalModel of the code I was working with,' the software engineer at the FAANG told me. 'Another aspect is that I joined late last year and [the company’s] codebase is massive. As a new hire, part of my job is to learn how to navigate the codebase and use the established conventions, but I think the AI push really hampered my ability to do that. '"
Read more:
https://www.404media.co/software-developers-say-ai-is-rotting-their-brains/Archived version:
https://archive.ph/2vjJm#AISucks #DumbingUsDown #BrainRot #AIBrainRot #MentalMaps #CriticalThinkingSkills #UseYourBrain #UseItOrLoseIt
-
Speaking of #CorporateSuckups... Way to NOT get my vote, #JanetMills! 🖕🏼
Janet Mills vetoes #Maine #DataCenter ban
by Ethan Andrews, April 24, 2026
"Gov. Janet Mills on Friday vetoed a bill that would have created a temporary statewide ban on large #DataCenters.
"The bill passed by the Maine Legislature earlier this month would enact an 18-month moratorium on new data centers that use more than 20 #megawatts of power.
"It would have made Maine the first state in the country to enact such a ban on the controversial facilities, which support #CloudComputing and artificial intelligence at the cost of large amounts of electricity and #water."
Read more:
https://www.bangordailynews.com/2026/04/24/politics/janet-mills-vetoes-maine-data-center-ban/Archived version:
https://archive.ph/DlifM#AISucks #DatacenterMoratorium #AIDatacenters #EnvironmentalRacism #PreyingOnThePoor #BigDataSucks #EnergyVampires #NoisePollution #MainePol #ResistAI #WaterIsLife #ArtificialIntelligence #HumanStupidity
-
Speaking of #CorporateSuckups... Way to NOT get my vote, #JanetMills! 🖕🏼
Janet Mills vetoes #Maine #DataCenter ban
by Ethan Andrews, April 24, 2026
"Gov. Janet Mills on Friday vetoed a bill that would have created a temporary statewide ban on large #DataCenters.
"The bill passed by the Maine Legislature earlier this month would enact an 18-month moratorium on new data centers that use more than 20 #megawatts of power.
"It would have made Maine the first state in the country to enact such a ban on the controversial facilities, which support #CloudComputing and artificial intelligence at the cost of large amounts of electricity and #water."
Read more:
https://www.bangordailynews.com/2026/04/24/politics/janet-mills-vetoes-maine-data-center-ban/Archived version:
https://archive.ph/DlifM#AISucks #DatacenterMoratorium #AIDatacenters #EnvironmentalRacism #PreyingOnThePoor #BigDataSucks #EnergyVampires #NoisePollution #MainePol #ResistAI #WaterIsLife #ArtificialIntelligence #HumanStupidity
-
Speaking of #CorporateSuckups... Way to NOT get my vote, #JanetMills! 🖕🏼
Janet Mills vetoes #Maine #DataCenter ban
by Ethan Andrews, April 24, 2026
"Gov. Janet Mills on Friday vetoed a bill that would have created a temporary statewide ban on large #DataCenters.
"The bill passed by the Maine Legislature earlier this month would enact an 18-month moratorium on new data centers that use more than 20 #megawatts of power.
"It would have made Maine the first state in the country to enact such a ban on the controversial facilities, which support #CloudComputing and artificial intelligence at the cost of large amounts of electricity and #water."
Read more:
https://www.bangordailynews.com/2026/04/24/politics/janet-mills-vetoes-maine-data-center-ban/Archived version:
https://archive.ph/DlifM#AISucks #DatacenterMoratorium #AIDatacenters #EnvironmentalRacism #PreyingOnThePoor #BigDataSucks #EnergyVampires #NoisePollution #MainePol #ResistAI #WaterIsLife #ArtificialIntelligence #HumanStupidity
-
Speaking of #CorporateSuckups... Way to NOT get my vote, #JanetMills! 🖕🏼
Janet Mills vetoes #Maine #DataCenter ban
by Ethan Andrews, April 24, 2026
"Gov. Janet Mills on Friday vetoed a bill that would have created a temporary statewide ban on large #DataCenters.
"The bill passed by the Maine Legislature earlier this month would enact an 18-month moratorium on new data centers that use more than 20 #megawatts of power.
"It would have made Maine the first state in the country to enact such a ban on the controversial facilities, which support #CloudComputing and artificial intelligence at the cost of large amounts of electricity and #water."
Read more:
https://www.bangordailynews.com/2026/04/24/politics/janet-mills-vetoes-maine-data-center-ban/Archived version:
https://archive.ph/DlifM#AISucks #DatacenterMoratorium #AIDatacenters #EnvironmentalRacism #PreyingOnThePoor #BigDataSucks #EnergyVampires #NoisePollution #MainePol #ResistAI #WaterIsLife #ArtificialIntelligence #HumanStupidity
-
Speaking of #CorporateSuckups... Way to NOT get my vote, #JanetMills! 🖕🏼
Janet Mills vetoes #Maine #DataCenter ban
by Ethan Andrews, April 24, 2026
"Gov. Janet Mills on Friday vetoed a bill that would have created a temporary statewide ban on large #DataCenters.
"The bill passed by the Maine Legislature earlier this month would enact an 18-month moratorium on new data centers that use more than 20 #megawatts of power.
"It would have made Maine the first state in the country to enact such a ban on the controversial facilities, which support #CloudComputing and artificial intelligence at the cost of large amounts of electricity and #water."
Read more:
https://www.bangordailynews.com/2026/04/24/politics/janet-mills-vetoes-maine-data-center-ban/Archived version:
https://archive.ph/DlifM#AISucks #DatacenterMoratorium #AIDatacenters #EnvironmentalRacism #PreyingOnThePoor #BigDataSucks #EnergyVampires #NoisePollution #MainePol #ResistAI #WaterIsLife #ArtificialIntelligence #HumanStupidity
-
#RayBradbury Reveals the True Meaning of #Fahrenheit451: It’s Not About #Censorship, But People “Being Turned Into Morons by #TV”
in Books | August 10th, 2017 9 Comments
' 'Fahrenheit 451 is not, he says firmly, a story about government censorship,' wrote the Los Angeles Weekly’s Amy E. Boyle Johnson in 2007. 'Nor was it a response to Senator #Joseph McCarthy, whose investigations had already instilled fear and stifled the creativity of thousands.' Rather, he meant his 1953 novel as 'a story about how television destroys interest in reading literature.' "
https://www.openculture.com/2017/08/ray-bradbury-reveals-the-true-meaning-of-fahrenheit-451.html
#Idiocracy #DumbingUsDown #PutDownThePhones #AISucks #ReadABook
-
“#CognitiveSurrender” leads #AI users to abandon #logical thinking, research finds
Experiments show large majorities uncritically accepting “faulty” AI answers.
Kyle Orland – Apr 3, 2026
#Vulcanize🖖🏼 #AISucks #UseLogic #UseItOrLoseIt #DumbingUsDown #CriticalThinkingSkills
-
More of this, please...!
A college instructor turns to typewriters to curb AI-written work and teach life lessons
By JOCELYN GECKER, March 31, 2026
"The scene is right out of the 1950s with students pecking away at manual typewriters, the machines dinging at the end of each line.
"Once each semester, Grit Matthias Phelps, a German language instructor at Cornell University, introduces her students to the raw feeling of typing without online assistance. No screens, online dictionaries, spellcheckers or delete keys.
"The exercise started in spring 2023 as Phelps grew frustrated with the reality that students were using generative AI and online translation platforms to churn out grammatically perfect assignments.
" 'What’s the point of me reading it if it’s already correct anyway, and you didn’t write it yourself? Could you produce it without your computer?' said Phelps.
"She wanted students to understand what writing, thinking and classrooms were like before everything turned digital. So, she found a few dozen old manual typewriters in thrift shops and online marketplaces, and created what her syllabus calls an 'analog' assignment."
Read more:
https://apnews.com/article/typewriter-ai-cheating-chatgpt-cornell-ce10e1ca0f10c96f79b7d988bb56448b -
"In a detailed report released last week, titled The Urgent Case Against #DataCenters, #FWW pointed to some of the 'documented harms caused by #AI and data centers,' including:
- Enormous #energy footprints: A single hyperscale data center can consume as much energy as 2 million US households.
- A lifeline for #FossilFuels: The thirst for fuel is being met by keeping old #coal-fired power plants running and by building new natural gas ones. [And restarting old #NuclearPlants]
- Skyrocketing electricity costs: Increased #EnergyDemand can raise residential rates, which soared 31% from 2020 to 2025 (compared to 4% from 2015 to 2020).
- Drained water resources: By 2028, AI data centers could use as much water as 18.5 million households, just for cooling their servers.
- An investment bubble: A handful of companies are investing in one another and increasingly turning to risky debt structures to hide the threat of the bubble.
- A litany of other harms: This includes massive amounts of electronic waste (#EWaste), unrelenting noise pollution, loss of #farmland, political instability from #deepfake videos, lost revenue from data center tax incentives, and #ChildEndangerment from #AI #chatbots."#NoDatacenters #NoAI
#NoNukesForAI #UnrestrictedGrowth #WaterIsLife #NoisePollution
#AISucks #USPol -
Federal Agents Are Intimidating #LegalObservers at Their Homes: “They Know Where You Live.”
#Immigration authorities in #Minnesota have identified legal observers by name and address, and in some cases showed up at their homes.
by Austin Campbell
March 5 2026, 5:53 a.m."Former Minnesota state Sen. #MattLittle was lawfully observing federal immigration agents in a Dakota County neighborhood last month when the drive took an unexpected turn.
"As he followed their vehicles, they led him down a rural road that grew increasingly familiar during the 20-minute drive. Soon, Little told #TheIntercept, he realized where the federal agents were headed: his house.
"When he approached his driveway, two SUVs were already waiting, Little said. Agents moved to block his car, claiming he had impeded their investigation and that local law enforcement would be called. No other officers came to his house, and Little was not cited or charged.
" 'The intent was clearly to intimidate us. It’s stressful. It’s a little bit scary. But at the same time,' Little said, 'I just think it’s really important to be out there and monitoring what they’re doing.'
"Interviews, sworn declarations, and video reviewed by The Intercept indicate that Little is not the only person subjected to this kind of #intimidation. Across the #TwinCities, immigration agents have identified legal observers by name and address, and, in some cases, led them back to their homes after they engaged in lawful monitoring of immigration activity. Legal observers say this pattern of behavior sends a clear and chilling message: The federal government knows who they are and where they live.
"These encounters are unfolding amid a rapid expansion of federal #surveillance capabilities.
"Immigration authorities have significantly expanded their use of mobile #biometric and surveillance tools in recent years. Officers with Immigration and Customs Enforcement as well as Customs and Border Protection, for example, can use the smartphone app #MobileFortify to photograph a person’s face or capture fingerprints in the field and compare them against federal biometric databases, according to a Department of Homeland Security inventory of artificial intelligence technologies."
Read more:
https://theintercept.com/2026/03/05/ice-cbp-minnesota-surveillance-intimidation-observers/Archived version:
https://archive.ph/MggRo#AbolishCBP #AbolishICE #ICESucks #Palantir #AISucks #PoliceState #USPol #Orwellian #SilencingDissent #SurveillanceState
-
@memeorandum There's an easy way to get around use of Einstein and other #AIAgents... IN-CLASS WRITING and NO PHONES!
"Assessment redesign toward formats less amenable to full automation, including oral exams, in-person evaluations, iterative project work, and authentic assessments tied to process evidence. "
-
@memeorandum "Einstein is explicit in its pitch: it will log into Canvas (one of the most popular and ubiquitous pieces of education software) and do your classwork for you, just like Kirschenbaum and his fellows warned about last year."
-
More reasons to say "No!" to #SpaceX and #Starlink (and other unnecessary satellites!).
SpaceX rocket fireball linked to plume of polluting lithium
Georgina Rannard, Science reporter, February 19, 2025
Excerpts: "When a SpaceX rocket failure set the skies aflame over western Europe last February, no-one was sure if the debris was also polluting our #atmosphere.
"Now scientists are directly linking the uncontrolled rocket re-entry to a plume of #lithium measured less than 100km above Earth.
"It is the first time researchers have drawn a direct link between a known piece of #SpaceDebris crashing to Earth and #pollution levels.
They warn that as SpaceX chief #ElonMusk pledges to launch one million satellites in the coming years, this #contamination could be the tip of the iceberg."
[...]
"Earlier research has suggested that 10% of aerosols in the atmosphere are already contaminated by space debris.
"SpaceX has not responded to emailed requests from BBC News for comment. The researchers also sent their findings to the company but did not receive a response.
"Almost 30,000 pieces of debris are calculated to be free-floating in space, created when rockets break up in space or satellites disintegrate.
"Scientists warn that the debris is congesting space and threatens collision with rockets, the International Space Station, and our planet.
"Musk's SpaceX is the world's leading company for rocket launches including for sending humans into space and maintaining a network of 10,000 Starlink internet satellites.
"Musk recently announced he has applied to launch one million satellites to support #ArtificialIntelligence (#AI) data centres in space.
"Scientists warn that as humans move more activities off-Earth, more debris will fall to Earth, polluting as it plummets."
Read more:
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpd8z4eqlxno#LithiumPollution #AtmosphericPollution #NoAIInSpace #NoDatacentersInSpace #LEO #KesslerEffect #SpaceJunk #DarkSkies #LowerEarthOrbit #LEO #AIBullshitMachines #TechBros #xAI #Technopoly #SpacePollution
#AISucks #DataCenters #SkyNet #KesslerSyndrome #USPol #WorldPol #SpaceNews -
This #SpaceX Situation: Not Good!
by Jason Koebler, Feb 5, 2026
Excerpt: "There are many reasons that 'AI data centers in space' may be a pipe dream and may not happen, but what he is proposing is a magnitude of #SpaceJunk that no other company could plausibly promise to launch. Data centers or not, SpaceX is now dominating #LowEarthOrbit in a way no other company or country has. While Musk has been gutting the federal government, interfering in #elections, allowing people to generate #CSAM, engaging in white supremacy, planning trips to #EpsteinsIsland, implanting #chips into people’s brains, siphoning off taxpayer money to build ridiculous tunnels, giving his sperm to whoever will take it, turning his cars into experimental robot taxis, and pretending to build #HumanoidRobots, #SpaceX has somewhat (?) quietly #colonized and dominated low earth orbit.
"Musk has taken this space for his own use, concerns about #LightPollution, satellite collisions, and telecom #monopolies be damned. This has always been concerning, but explicitly intertwining the aspirations and fate of SpaceX with Musk’s CSAM generating social media website, his #AIBullshitMachines, and his right wing political project is horrifying and monopolistic. What happens next, I have no idea."
Read more:
https://www.404media.co/this-spacex-situation-not-goodArchived version:
https://archive.ph/vUubi#TechBros #Technopoly #DarkSkies #SpacePollution #AISucks #DataCenters #SkyNet #KesslerEffect #KesslerSyndrome #USPol #WorldPol #SpaceNews #EpsteinFiles
-
#SpaceX acquires #xAI, plans to launch a massive #SatelliteConstellation to power it
“This marks not just the next chapter, but the next book in SpaceX and xAI’s mission.”
Eric Berger – Feb 2, 2026
"SpaceX has formally acquired another one of Elon Musk’s companies, xAi, the space company announced on Monday afternoon.
“SpaceX has acquired xAI to form the most ambitious, vertically-integrated innovation engine on (and off) Earth, with AI, rockets, space-based internet, direct-to-mobile device communications and the world’s foremost real-time information and free speech platform,' the company said. 'This marks not just the next chapter, but the next book in SpaceX and xAI’s mission: scaling to make a sentient sun to understand the Universe and extend the light of consciousness to the stars!' [How much Special-K did you take, dude?]
"The merging of what is arguably Musk’s most successful company, SpaceX, with the more speculative xAI venture is a risk. Founded in 2023, xAI’s main products are the generative AI chatbot Grok and the social media site X, formerly known as Twitter. The company aims to compete with OpenAI and other artificial intelligence firms. However, Grok has been controversial, including the sexualization of women and children through AI-generated images, as has Musk’s management of Twitter."
#USPol #WorldPol #ElonSucks #SkyNet #AISucks #DarkSkies #SpacePollution #SatellitePollution #LowEarthOrbit #KesslerEffect #KesslerSyndrom
-
Essay - How the climate conversation went punk
From #SlowFashion to #GuerrillaGardening, the internet has transformed solarpunk, a literary movement, into an alternative lifestyle trend.
Written by Sonal Gupta
Mumbai | Updated: November 20, 2025Excerpt: "In 2020, #SolarPunkFarms cropped up in California as a #communal living space whose inhabitants grow and share their own food. The leftovers are sent to local markets. They have designed their #greenhouse after the animations of #HayaoMiyazaki. In fact, the works of the #StudioGhibli founder have found resonance among solarpunks, as he places nature as a character in his plots. In his visions, nature is at its most beautiful—lush greenery, rays of light, the dew on leaves, and the wind blowing life into trees.
"Though these changes are encouraging, it’s ironic that as we move past dystopian visions, the #capitalists of the world, running in the #AI race, threaten to steer us to the very future. The use of AI itself depletes water resources and generates immense amounts of greenhouse gases and electronic waste. If we are to live in a world where technology exists in harmony with #nature, #activists, stakeholders, and individuals must actively call for more #SustainableSolutions, #AffirmativeAction, and policy changes.
"If cyberpunk warned us of what happens when technology consumes humanity, solarpunk invites us to imagine what is possible when humanity reclaims technology. It reminds us that hope, like sunlight, is a renewable resource too."
Read more:
https://indianexpress.com/article/fresh-take/what-is-solarpunk-climate-change-10334376/Archived version:
https://archive.ph/8loNL#SolarPunkSunday #SolarPunk #HopePunk #DeGrowth #DeCapitalize #RightToRepair #NatureRocks #AISucks #ClimateChange #RenewablesNow #GrowYourOwnFood #ABetterWorld #StabilizedWorld #ClimateAdaptation
-
Does using #AI dumb you down?
by Willis Ryder Arnold, Meghna Chakrabarti, August 11, 2025
Excerpt: "CHAKRABARTI: ... Well, actually, Nataliya, before you do that, I do want to, I promise you, we will hear the final. I'm just like teasing, I'm teasing listeners today, but since both of you have actually mentioned handwriting, I do wanna just pause for a second and talk about that.
"Because in my personal N=1 of my life, I type every day like any normal person, almost all my writing is done through typing, but I don't know, I find myself that when I like, really want to remember something or it's of high value to me, I pick up a pencil or a pen.
"And somehow that embeds it more deeply into my brain, specifically my aging, working memory.
"So because of that, we actually reached out to one of the researchers that you mentioned who has done research on handwriting to understand like how we process information and think differently depending on how we're physically writing. And according to on Audrey van der Meer the answer is quite a bit.
"AUDREY VAN DER MEER: We actually looked at the connectivity patterns in the brain during handwriting and typewriting, and we found that the brain is much more connected during handwriting than it is during typewriting.
"CHAKRABARTI: van der Meer is a researcher and professor of neuropsychology at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.
"And in her research she used students, once again, the universal Guinea pig, as subjects. And it sounds like the experiment might've looked exactly how you'd think, but maybe with the fun twist.
"VAN DER MEER: They were wearing one of our characteristic electrode nets. Consisting of 256 sensitive electrodes sewn together as like a hair net on their heads, and they were playing the game Pictionary. So we presented Pictionary words on a large screen, and they were supposed to either write the word by hand, draw the word by hand, or type the word on a keyboard. And we recorded their ongoing brain activity while they were performing those tasks.
"CHAKRABARTI: And just like Nataliya's team did, van der Meer recorded that brain activity on an EEG, and she says the number of brain functions, visual processing, sensory motor integration, and the motor cortex are notably more engaged when writing by hand.
"VAN DER MEER: The brain does this through neural oscillations that can oscillate at different frequencies and in different parts of the brain and that kind, those kind of oscillations in the regions of the brain where we found activity are usually involved in learning and memory. So these kind of oscillations, they put the brain in a kind of state that makes it easier to learn from your handwriting activities and to remember what the notes were about.
"CHAKRABARTI: Writing by hand can also promote recall of experience in place because it helps cement memories that are unique to us. According to van der Meer:
"VAN DER MEER: Handwritten notes are very personal. When you then take them up in order to study for the exam, for instance, everything is coming back because it feels like you're back in the lecture theater again.
"And that's why sending your mate to a lecture to take notes doesn't work because notes, hundred of notes are typically very personal."
Read more / listen:
https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2025/08/11/ai-writing-chatgpt-study-cognitive#AISucks #AIIsDumbingUsDown #AIResistance #Handwriting #BrainHealth #Datacenters #DumbingUsDown
-
So, taking off to run a few errands. I'm thinking that this afternoon/evening I'll be posting about a topic that's been on my mind for a while -- is #AI #DumbingUsDown? A lot of you won't be surprised at what the studies say. AI and #DataCenters are NOT worth the price to the #Environment or our #BrainHealth!
#AISucks #AIIsDumbingUsDown #NoNukesForAI #NoNukesForDatacenters #ElectricityHogs #WaterUsage #WaterIsLife #NoisePollution
-
Where ‘#DayZeroDroughts’ could happen as soon as this decade
Story by Laura Paddison, September 23, 2025
Excerpt: "Cities are particularly at risk as booming populations increase demand on water resources already under pressure from #ClimateChange and mismanagement. Low-income communities are expected to be disproportionately affected, the study found.
"Some parts of the world, including the Mediterranean, southern Africa, Asia and Australia, are projected to endure more prolonged day-zero drought events with less time between each one, limiting their ability to recover, the report found. This can have devastating effects on agriculture and ecosystems, and for some particularly badly affected areas, it throws into question 'whether people might still be able to live there long term,' Franzke said.
The findings point to the clear need to speed up the clean energy transition, he said, as well as improve water management — huge amounts are wasted through leaky pipes, for example.
"The research should also guide industry, he added, pointing to the proliferation of water-guzzling #SemiconductorManufacturing and #DataCenters in water-stressed areas such as #Texas and #Arizona."
Read more:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/where-day-zero-droughts-could-happen-as-soon-as-this-decade/#WaterIsLife #Rainbarrels #WaterManagement #GreywaterSystems #Greywater #Graywater #WaterConservation #NoWaterForAI #NoWaterForDatacenters #AISucks #ClimateChange #Drought #FossilFuels #DayZero
-
Is #AI Making Us Stupider? This Study Certainly Thinks So
New research highlights the impact of AI on #CriticalThinking skills.
Posted August 21, 2025 | Reviewed by Michelle Quirk
Key points
- Using AI to do the thinking impacts not only quality of work but also the long-term acquisition of skills.
- AI can have a place in education, but it needs to be carefully employed.
- Employing AI is having a detrimental impact on our ability to think critically.Excerpt: "A new study by #MIT has published initial results highlighting a likely connection between large language models (#LLMs)—colloquially grouped under the banner of AI—and a direct cognitive cost, particularly when it comes to our ability to think critically. They conducted a study using a pool of 54 participants, divided into three groups. The groups were asked to deliver an SAT-grade essay, with the first group granted access to #ChatGPT, the second to traditional #GoogleSearch, and the third with no search resources at all. Group 3 was referred to as the '#BrainOnly' group.
"Over time, each participant had to produce several essays, and each time was attached to an EEG to record brain activity across 32 regions. Consistently, ChatGPT users had the lowest brain engagement for every essay, and worryingly showed decreasing brain activity over time, as they progressed through the essay assignments. What this represents is the ChatGPT participants getting '#lazier' with each subsequent essay, with many resorting to copy-and-paste content by the end of the study. The study also recorded that this group 'consistently underperformed at #neural, #linguistic, and behavioral levels.' The findings make sense; with ChatGPT doing much of the work, it's easier on our #cognitive processes, and it is unsurprising that it takes less mental effort.
"Perhaps the more concerning aspect of the findings is the connection between #ReducedBrainActivity and impact on long-term learning and memory. As well as recording the participants' level of satisfaction, #curiosity, #creativity and #memory as part of the study—which were all high for both the brain-only and the search assisted groups (groups 2 and 3)—a later part of the study asked each group to reproduce one of their earlier essays, with the ChatGPT group asked to do so without access to any tools. There was little evidence of this group's participants remembering much of their previous essay, highlighting the very necessary link between #CognitiveEngagement and memory and, therefore, the potential impact on #LongTermLearning and gaining new skills. Conversely, and perhaps reassuringly, however, the brain-only group was then permitted to rewrite their essay with access to ChatGPT, with their efforts showing higher levels of creativity and stronger arguments, while retaining original thinking and unique language. This could present reassurance that, employed properly, AI has a place in enhancing learning without diminishing cognitive capability.
"Despite awaiting peer review and using only a small participant sample, the research team decided to release their findings in advance of peer feedback, in what they highlight as an urgent consideration of #LearningWithAI."
#DumbingUsDown #AIIsDumbingUsDown #AISucks #UseYourBrain #CriticalThinkingSkills #EvaluatingSources #UseAIWithCaution
-
Should we add "#SkinJobs" and "#Toasters" and "#GoRustYourself" to this list?
How ‘#Clanker’ Became the Internet’s New Favorite Slur
New derogatory phrases are popping up online, thanks to a cultural pushback against #AI
by CT Jones, August 6, 2025
"Clanker. #Wireback. #Cogsucker. People are feeling the inescapable inevitability of AI developments, the encroaching of the digital into everything from entertainment to work. And their answer? Slurs.
"AI is everywhere — on Google summarizing search results and siphoning web traffic from digital publishers, on social media platforms like Instagram, X, and Facebook, adding misleading context to viral posts, or even powering #NaziChatbots. #GenerativeAI and #LargeLanguageModels — AI trained on huge datasets — are being used as therapists, consulted for medical advice, fueling spiritual psychosis, directing self-driving cars, and churning out everything from college essays to cover letters to breakup messages.
"Alongside this deluge is a growing sense of discontent from people fearful of artificial intelligence stealing their jobs, and worried what effect it may have on future generations — losing important skills like media #literacy, #ProblemSolving, and #CognitiveFunction. This is the world where the popularity of AI and robot slurs has skyrocketed, being thrown at everything from ChatGPT servers to delivery drones to automated customer service representatives. Rolling Stone spoke with two language experts who say the rise in robot and AI slurs does come from a kind of cultural pushback against AI development, but what’s most interesting about the trend is that it uses one of the only tools AI can’t create: slang
" '#Slang is moving so fast now that an #LLM trained on everything that happened before it is not going to have immediate access to how people are using a particular word now,' says Nicole Holliday, associate professor of linguistics at UC Berkeley. 'Humans [on] #UrbanDictionary are always going to win.' "
Archived version:
https://archive.ph/ku2Uw#BattlestarGalactica #AIResistance #AISucks #NoNukesForAI #NeoLuddites #ResistAI #LudditeClub #SmartPhoneAddiction #AreYouAlive #AreYouHuman
-
Against #AILiteracy: have we actually found a way to #ReverseLearning?
Miriam Reynoldson
Apr 19, 2025"So let’s get one thing out of the way: I think '#AI literacy' is a dangerous device of neoliberal education and it deserves to be dismissed out of hand.
"I don’t like that declaring this will immediately turn off half my audience, but I think it’s only fair to say it up front.
"This has a lot to do with my feelings about generative AI technologies, their developers, their #BloodDiamond genesis, and their ugly consequences for those who use them and those who are impacted by their use.
But it has a lot more to do with what literacy is."
Read more:
https://themindfile.substack.com/p/against-ai-literacy-have-we-actually#AIColonialism #AISucks #HumanCreativity #NoNukesForAI #WaterIsLife #DumbingUsDown #NoAI #Enshittification #AIPollution #NoisePollution #DataCenters #Terminator #Skynet
-
“Empire of #AI”: #KarenHao on How AI Is Threatening #Democracy & Creating a New #Colonial World
June 04, 2025 via @DemocracyNow_Headlines_rss
"The new book #EmpireOfAI by longtime technology reporter Karen Hao unveils the accruing political and economic power of AI companies — especially Sam Altman’s OpenAI. Her reporting uncovered the #exploitation of #workers in #Kenya, attempts to take massive amounts of freshwater from communities in #Chile, along with numerous accounts of the technology’s detrimental impact on the environment. 'This is an extraordinary type of AI development that is causing a lot of #social, #labor and #environmental harms,' says Hao."
Read / listen / watch:
https://www.democracynow.org/2025/6/4/karen_hao_empire_of_ai#AIColonialism #AISucks #HumanCreativity #NoNukesForAI #WaterIsLife #DumbingUsDown #NoAI #Enshittification #AIPollution #NoisePollution #DataCenters #Terminator #Skynet