Monday morning links

re Data Centers Are Doing Your Dirty Work for You. Their few defenders often misunderstand their benefits.

related: Tech's Trust Problem Is a Product Problem

QUOTE:

. . . The tech industry will not regain trust by talking about safety.

“The Tech industry will regain trust by delivering results that people can feel. A cancer diagnosis that used to take weeks, delivered in minutes by AI. A house that used to cost $400,000, 3D-printed for $80,000. A tutor for every child on Earth, free. An electric bill that dropped 50% because AI optimized the grid.”

. . . This is the trust strategy that works. Not safety pledges. Not alignment research papers. Not congressional testimony. Visible, measurable, life-improving results delivered at scale to ordinary people. The tech industry needs to show the public that AI is not a threat.

https://metatrends.substack.com/p/techs-trust-problem-is-a-product?publication_id=6133698&post_id=212411236&isFreemail=true&r=ch1ue&triedRedirect=true

In an era when institutional trust is disintegrating, this will be a tall order.

#1 feeblemind on 2026-08-24 10:37 (Reply)

feeblemind: In an era when institutional trust is disintegrating, this will be a tall order.

A good point considering AI tech firms have tried to avoid oversight by manipulating local governments before the general public can respond. Yes, AI is important. Yes, AI data-centers have to be built somewhere. Yes, AI data-centers can be a positive for local communities. But AI tech firms have not acted as good citizens by working with local communities, including trying to address complaints of naysayers.

Nearly all technical and social problems with AI data expansion can be addressed. But AI tech firms have been in too big a rush and there is so much money at stake, that it has seemed easier to take shortcuts, then only later trying to iron out the difficulties. Politicians in this hyper-partisan age exemplified the problem. Politicians have rolled over for tech firms knowing that AI is inevitable, there really is a lot of money at stake, and that U.S. should lead. But by rolling over rather than trying to find solutions, they have generated political backlash.

The proper ground is that AI expansion in the U.S. should occur, and that good stewardship means addressing legitimate concerns due to the buildout, including and especially water and electrical usage in the short run, and job dislocation in the longer run. (In the 90's, it was learn to code. Today, it is learn to AI.)

#1.1 Zachriel on 2026-08-24 11:09 (Reply)

A friend sent me these very thoughtful comments on this post.

The words are his, not mine.

This is a very good read, point well taken. From the start of the “tech industry” (in the 1920s) to inception of the Internet the industry was focused on building tools that supported applications that drove efficiency. In some cases the applications created new ways to produce revenue. The key was the use of the technology was mostly focused on business, not consumer products, which the industry is known more for today (smart phones, random searches, social media, gaming, etc.). During this evolution the space for business oriented applications became saturated. Too many players with solutions that fundamentally did the same thing. The result was the commoditization of the industry, compressing the margins in the industry. As a result we see few true investments in new applications that bring benefits, they are costly and the returns are no where near what they were twenty years ago.

A critical point missed in this article is the difference between a tool and an application. A tool facilitates an application. Te computer hardware, the operating system, a data base engine are all tools. Programmers use the tools to build applications, such as a billing system, that bring functional value to the user. At this point AI is a tool, and an infantile one at that. The applications referenced by the author have yet to be built. This is the reason for the data centers, they are needed to build the applications themselves. In that the article is a bit backwards, the users of the tools being produced at this point cannot show value without the data centers. The author is suggesting we have chickens before the egg.

The current state of AI is a set of tools becoming available for people to model thought processes. Unto themselves they will not accomplish much. A human being has to build the logic models to replicate human thought. In other words an AI system will not cure cancer until a human provides the thought models associated with establishing a cure. What we see today are rudimentary models built to display the potential of the tools. Models that skim known data sources to answer rudimentary questions (maybe, always validate the AI result) and models to create animations that leverage CGI to create lifelike motion pictures. Cool stuff, but at the end of the day it brings limited value.

This author has made some good points. Over the past three decades the tech industry has lost sight of their true value proposition. They have become obsessed with consumer oriented products, many of which are a cost to society, verses investing in applications that bring value. The value based items are rather dull, the consumer goods side is glitzy. As a result we have ended up with a a large group of investors chasing glitz versus true value. Placing good money on very bad bets while, in this case, creating a political fire storm over something that few people truly understand.

#1.2 feeblemind on 2026-08-25 11:18 (Reply)

The Big Build and the Siege of Iran

On Trump's ballroom and his economic blockade of Iran.

https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2026/08/the-big-build-and-the-siege-of-iran/

#2 feeblemind on 2026-08-24 10:46 (Reply)

QUOTE:

The Big Build and the Siege of Iran... No court issued a “stop work” order when Teddy Roosevelt built the West Wing, Truman gutted the mansion down to the studs, or FDR put up the East Wing that everyone is suddenly so fond of.

The West and initial East Wing constructions were funded by the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Appropriation Act for Fiscal Year 1903. The expansion of the East Wing was funded by the Independent Offices Appropriation Act, 1942 and submitted (even during wartime) to the Commission of Fine Arts. The White House renovation was funded by the An Act To provide for a Commission on Renovation of the Executive Mansion.

QUOTE:

The ballroom, the much-needed official reception space, is a significant shelter against attack and sits atop a critical national security complex.

Then go to Congress.

The political right in the United States has gone from claiming they are small-government conservatives to saying the president should be able to start military wars, trade wars, dismantle the civil service system, and tear down historic buildings, all without congressional oversight. So it goes.

#2.1 Zachriel on 2026-08-24 11:30 (Reply)

The kiddieZ seem to dismiss the damage caused by Congress shutting down the federal government for 43 days.

Try not to be so dishonest as to think Democrats will not obstruct anything and everything President Trump tries to promote.

#2.1.1 drowningbabies on 2026-08-24 12:56 (Reply)

But that has been his way for MANY years now!
Why would you expect him to change???

#2.1.1.1 Mark Matis on 2026-08-24 15:26 (Reply)

drowningbabies: Try not to be so dishonest as to think Democrats will not obstruct anything and everything President Trump tries to promote.

Republicaning is tough.

While there are structural issues in the U.S. Constitution that can make consensus difficult (first-past-the-post elections, bicameralism, head of state and head of government in one office, executive may not be the same party as the majority in the legislature), the solution isn't autocracy, but compromise. (Republicans currently control both chambers of the legislature and the executive.) Of course, that is, if you don't actually prefer autocracy to a republic.

#2.1.2 Zachriel on 2026-08-24 13:23 (Reply)

Does anybody recall Zachriel's outrage when Biden sidestepped congressional authority to allow millions of third world immigrants in, or to cancel student loans?

Me neither. Commie freaks' outrage only goes one way.

#2.1.2.1 Rusty on 2026-08-24 16:00 (Reply)

Uh, no. As usual the kiddieZ are dishonest and hypocritical.

#2.1.2.1.1 Zachinoff on 2026-08-25 00:08 (Reply)

It clearly demonstrates the complete lack of principles.

Notice that he now preaches compromise when his comrades are not in power. He never demanded compromise when Biden illegally circumvented congress. He cares nothing for the constitution or separation of powers.

#2.1.2.1.1.1 Rusty on 2026-08-25 01:20 (Reply)

What else would you expect of him now, after all these years???

#2.1.2.1.1.1.1 Mark Matis on 2026-08-25 16:08 (Reply)

There is still time for repentance.

But the time is short. And the days are evil.

#2.1.2.1.1.1.1.1 Rusty on 2026-08-25 17:57 (Reply)

It is not just the days that are evil.
There are plenty of evil PEOPLE out there as well!!!

#2.1.2.1.1.1.1.1.1 Mark Matis on 2026-08-26 05:24 (Reply)

There is a massive effort to gaslight Americans about how great data centers are for them. My favorite is more jobs. A data center needs a couple dozen people to run it. Everyone of those employees will have been born in India.
Another lie is that the community will benefit from taxes and yet most data centers bribe your politicians for a tax exempt status.

Citizens need to ask their politicians in public if they took bribes or signed a NDA. Watch them squirm.

Make no mistake, they are going to build the data centers anyway without without your approval. The best you can do is shed light on then.

#3 Oneguy.com on 2026-08-24 16:09 (Reply)

Almost all opposition to data centers comes directly from agit prop fed through blogs and social media. There really aren't legitimate arguments for not building them.

#4 jack walter on 2026-08-24 18:02 (Reply)

The only real objection is the electrical consumption. If they bring/furnish their own I have no complaint.

#4.1 indyjonesouthere on 2026-08-24 19:34 (Reply)

"The kids see scarcity" - they're not wrong. AI is changing the pathways to good professional jobs, and the challenge is going to be training people for senior levels (think lawyer, accountant, etc) when AI has taken over the entry-level tasks by which young professionals learned the basics of their trade.
Looking at the grandbrats, who are heading into high school and the job market. Our kids were able to babysit in the neighbourhood, though one kid parlayed a stint as a page at the local library into permanent part-time work all through uni. But am wondering what careers will be available as they finish their schooling and head out into the job market. Ironically, the one kid I think has the best future is the non-academic kid who is bright and creative but not university material. We get this kid into an apprenticeship - electrical or plumbing - and we figure said kid will do really well.

#5 Frances on 2026-08-26 00:10 (Reply)

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Monday, August 24. 2026

Monday morning links