a day ago
Utah pursuing AI data centers is pure stupidity
Construction proceeds at a data center in Eagle Mountain, Utah, in 2021. Across the country, some state lawmakers are concerned that the growing data center industry is creating a surge in demand for new electricity and grid infrastructure. ()
Since the legislature established the Utah Inland Port Authority (UIPA) in 2018, UIPA has demonstrated an ability to spend millions of tax payer money on one bad idea after another. The latest is to bring artificial intelligence (AI) data centers to their Wasatch Front project areas. UIPA is being caught up in a 21st century gold rush, but like the one in 1848, it will turn out to be mostly fool's gold.
Nationwide, state and local officials are fast tracking data center permits in their communities, foolishly giving them enormous tax breaks. Most of the biggest data centers are being built by the mega-billionaire tech bros like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg, the very same people who are already hoarding unprecedented wealth and power. Much of the impetus for these data centers has degenerated into a race between these mega-billionaires to see who ultimately dominates the holy grail of computing — 'artificial general intelligence' (AGI), essentially human brain level sophisticated computation. Data center construction has doubled just since 2022, and the only result is further concentration of wealth and power at the top of big tech.
The tech bros race to rule AGI is the crown jewel in their pathologic ethos of 'move fast and break things.' Numerous experts are warning about the existential danger of AGI. It will render many jobs obsolete, it represents a grave national security threat, and it blurs the lines between truth and fiction. This next level AI creates new content by analyzing and mimicking patterns from vast amounts of existing data. Its uses are far beyond helping students to cheat on writing papers. It's being used to spread climate misinformation, exacerbate housing discrimination of Black communities, create increasingly sophisticated phishing scams, and assisting state and corporate surveillance, monitoring workers' every move. AI is stymieing worker critical thinking and not delivering productivity gains.
A State Department report concluded AI could pose an 'extinction-level' threat, comparing it to the threat of nuclear weapons if not regulated. AI workers are concerned about the irresponsibility, and perverse motives of these tech companies' executives.
Our environment is another one of the things they are 'breaking.' Data centers already rank in the top 10 water-consuming industries. Data centers can consume up to 5 million gallons of potable water a day, 25 times the 200,000 gallon commercial limit set by Salt Lake City. Good luck saving Great Salt Lake if we surround it with UIPA-subsidized data centers.
Cryptocurrency serves no useful purpose and requires massive AI computations. Each Bitcoin transaction generates the equivalent carbon footprint of one million VISA transactions. Bitcoin is already one of the leading global industrial polluters. The quality of the algorithms is dependent on the size of the computing systems, and AGI can require 10 to 100 times more computing power than say GPT-4, with an exponential increase in energy demand. One complex can require 100 MW of electricity, the entire output of a small coal-fired power plant. Energy demand from AI data centers is forecasted to more than quadruple by 2030, strain on local electrical grids will be substantial. 'Hyperscale' data centers can require dozens of highly polluting diesel generators for back-up power.
AGI electricity demand is undermining decarbonization strategies worldwide, driving an increase in carbon emissions at the worst possible time for climate mitigation. Gov. Spencer Cox cited electricity demands of AI as contributing to Utah's 'energy crisis' justifying his 'Operation Gigawatt,' a promotion of his 'all of the above' strategy, including more polluting, climate killing fossil fuels and risky nuclear power.
Data centers are noise pollution centers. They emit constant humming and buzzing that can exceed 85 decibels, which is bothersome and harmful to neighbors. Noise pollution is the second most hazardous environmental pollutant after air pollution, causing many of the same adverse health outcomes.
Musk's xAI is being used primarily for his chatbot, Grok, which allows creation of unfiltered deepfake images, like Mickey Mouse wearing a Nazi uniform, and ever more pornography. Musk calls it 'the most fun AI in the world.' The environmental price tag of all that 'fun' is enormous. For example, Musk's AI supercomputer center in Memphis, Tennessee, uses 35 methane driven gas turbines, none have pollution controls required by EPA. It is already one of the largest emitters of toxic nitrogen oxides in a highly polluted county, far more than an oil refinery. Imagine if Utah allowed UIPA to bring several of these to Salt Lake, Tooele, and Weber Counties, each emitting far more pollution than another oil refinery.
In many ways the explosion of artificial intelligence is already harming society and threatening our future. We should rename it 'artificial stupidity.' Utah should be smarter than to allow UIPA to drag us into competing for tax payer subsidized big tech data centers, leaving the rest of us as collateral damage.
