What the US Movement Against Data Centers Can Learn From Abroad
wired ·
Paris Marx’s new book, Hyperscale, examines the global expansion of data centers and the growing opposition to them, arguing that the United States can learn from international precedents. The article highlights how Ireland faced grid capacity issues in 2022, leading tech companies to lobby for private power infrastructure and gas plants, a trend now accelerating in the US. Marx also points to early warnings from places like Singapore and The Dalles, Oregon, where communities struggled with excessive water and energy consumption by tech giants. He characterizes the current AI infrastructure boom as a bubble, noting that rapid hardware obsolescence may render these massive investments obsolete before they fully pay off. Drawing on examples from New Zealand, Marx advocates for community-led, non-extractive alternatives to Big Tech models. He urges governments to implement stricter regulations on both data center development and AI products to address environmental and social harms. Finally, the piece notes that similar political tensions between economic growth and climate goals are emerging in Europe.
wired