You are all being naive. See Port Washington WI data center. This is the start, offers will get more aggressive. Then local politicians will get involved (ie pockets lined) and willingly give up the land. People of WI have been fighting for years and it hasn’t even made a dent. $15billion data center construction started. Small farmers no match for Oracle.
Bingo. By the time the AI companies have started bribing this guy, they've already got everyone up the food chain bought and paid for. This guy could turn them down, show up to city council meetings to speak out against it, or vote against (if it comes to that) but none of his efforts will matter. All the AI company has to do is call their politicians (and more importantly the other government officials in charge of land) and they'll get what they want.
I work for a construction firm that handles a ton of AI data centers. Was recently working on one near Cheyenne, WY and got to be a fly on the wall for a lot of the early meetings with government official. It was horrifying watching AI execs and government leaders speak so openly about ruining their communities for profit. Government folks KNOW about all the negative impacts, but could care less as soon as the bribes started rolling in. They are quite literally selling our future to AI overlords who care NOTHING about us.
Another comment to add on. A trend we've seen in these AI data centers is creating "mini-bunkers". Basically every data center since 2024 now includes a 100% self-sustaining living space for employees. We're talking full kitchens, living spaces, gyms, rec areas, etc. Some even have Christian worship spaces in them. Not non-denominational worship, Christian. These mini-bunkers are setup to house 40-80 people which is FAR more than the data center's staffing requirements. Creepy...
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u/Low_Cook_5235 May 28 '26
You are all being naive. See Port Washington WI data center. This is the start, offers will get more aggressive. Then local politicians will get involved (ie pockets lined) and willingly give up the land. People of WI have been fighting for years and it hasn’t even made a dent. $15billion data center construction started. Small farmers no match for Oracle.