DID YOU KNOW… In a recent poll conducted by POLITICO, over 2,000 people said they were willing to support a data center in their area, even if the building causes the rise in their own electricity bills.

Meanwhile:

Nvidia is teaming up with a start-up called Span (No, NOT “Spam”) to put AI data centers into personal homes and businesses. Span is looking to install “nodes” on the side of homes and small commercial businesses for AI cloud providers to extract energy and tap into the network. Supposedly, these work by “absorbing unused electrical capacity” on local grids. (Another challenging assumption: local grid is a misunderstanding in 2026 times.) A home building company (Pulte) is also involved in including mini data centers on new homes.

Span and Nvidia claim that a network of these nodes could equal a small to mid-sized traditional data center. Therefore, there would be no need to build new ones. They offer a carrot: Homeowners might be compensated by reduced energy bills and Wi-Fi charges. 

Also meanwhile: the viciousness and vacuous nature of those fearful of massive water and electricity consumption , heat generation, and water and air pollution is growing. To us at TPOL, the greater concern is the creation of a expanded surveillance state: we already live in one, but AI and massive data conduits are perfect tools for tightening it down. We also recognize the fear of AI replacing jobs, but view that similar to the Luddite madness of centuries ago. Of course, those opposed to “data centers” out of fear fueled by tall tales and outright lies (as well as just plain stupidity), also point out that even the mini-data centers may also cause health problems.

So those people are already screaming about the evils of data centers, are already screeching about the dangers of these nodes. These, we are told, include radiation dangers, potential for house fires, intimate surveillance, and encouraging vandals. We suspect that they fear such a device literally in their backyard.

One of the magazines of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (the IEEE) warn us that although most people have heard about the environmental impacts of the AI boom, stemming from sprawling data centers packed with power-hungry servers and generating large amounts of heat (thus requiring those huge amounts of water), there is more. The IEEE tells us that in the States alone, the AI demand is projected to push data-center electricity consumption to 6.7 to 12.0% of our nations’ totals in just two years, by 2028. At the same time, water consumption for cooling these data-center facilities is predicted to double, or even quadruple, compared to the 2023 level.

The researchers go on to claim that the power plants and backup generators needed to keep data centers working generate harmful air pollutants, such as fine particulate matter and nitrogen oxides (NOx). Despite more and more generation of that power by solar, wind, and water (all of which have their own impacts), diesel and natural gas are the go-to for backup power.

Oh me, oh my. It appears we are doomed! Doomed, I say, by our appetite for cute cat videos and the latest scandal from Hollywood. And better recipes for Italian-style eggplant!

(Please note, IEEE and others generally do not address nuclear power, although that is already replacing both coal and natural gas. As more “micro” systems are fielded, it also potentially reduces the need for diesel-fired emergency generation. Because that, of course, is a whole different (higher) level of fear and fearmongering. And the result is greater and greater delays and costs due to government micromanagement in permitting the systems. Which offers more and more opportunities for luddites (and even a few people honestly concerned) to delay and meddle.)

The point? The opportunity for government interference grows because of fear. Which is no doubt one reason that certain groups of people encourage and do the fearmongering. Wealth and power is a constant theme.