this post was submitted on 24 Jun 2026
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we’ve had data centres for 40 years how did this only recently come up in America?
Ngl didn’t read the article
Ooh a question I can answer. I will make the answer as neutral as I can just explaining the differences of old Data Centers and new ones.
I worked in several data centers (DC). But all were air cooled. These AI DCs are also called Hyper scales. They need liquid due to the density of heat production. In addition some literally use jet engines to power them instead of grid power. Some new DCs use loopholes like adding wheels to their power production so that way they can skirt around laws saying it's only temporary power production.
In the past a rack (42u standard) would hold things like hard drives, tape libraries, network stuff, and servers. Now they cram in GPUs by the dozens, run them at max via liquid cooling. Traditional DC cooling used air cooled hot and cold isles, raised floors with air conditioning pump and large scale chiller units.
Hyper scales are whole different animals. They are ment for processing. Depending on their loop system they need water connected right to GPU/CPUs, heat distribution, fresh water. All relatively new due to water's thermal mass.
Traditional DCs were air cooled. For perspective a fortune 500's DC may have been 3k sq ft. A Colo (multiple companies sharing one building for infrastructure) may be 15000-50000sq ft. These new data centers are now campuses. Like they are 8 data center buildings on one site because it's more practical to drive at some point.
TL;DR a Data Center =/= hyperscale data center.
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jan/15/elon-musk-xai-datacenter-memphis
So they build them cheaply and doing everything in their power to avoid regulations. We really need the government to come in and shut these down given all the harm they cause to their local environment.
A government worried about the environment... That usually only happens in times of mass outrage, chances of which might decrease over time by modern ~~propaganda~~ communication strategies.
Yeah. People don't understand why I'm not anti-datacenter (let me finish before you dog-pile me). Datacenters are very efficient ways to house lots of compute. Power, HVAC, and staffing all benefit from economies of scale. Most of our modern life is highly depent on datacenters, including application specific AI tools (not LLMs, but like medical imaging analysis tools) that will have positive effects on humanity. I do have problems with datacenters that are going up quickly and cheaply, with lax standards for air, water, sound and light pollution, and power subsidized by the surrounding homes, in order to ride the front of this very unstable AI bubble.
Before you ask, I did sign the petition to limit datacenters in my state. I'd sign one to limit new datacenter construction nation-wide. Datacenters are essential to modern life, which is exactly why we should have a higher standard for how they are constructed. I'm not anti-data center, but I am anti-whatever-the-fuck-this-is.
But the government is helping pave the way for it.
It was a theoretical thing. Government is supposed to work for the people, not just corporations. Obviously the government in the US is not doing a good job at that.
You're right. They are not. At. All.