Computer Says Maybe

NYC Live: Let Them Eat Compute


Listen Later

This just in with data centers: Energy grids are strained, water is scarce, utility costs are through the roof — ah well, let them eat compute, I guess!

More like this: AI Thirst in a Water-Scarce World w/ Julie McCarthy

It was just climate week in NYC and we did a live show on data centers with four amazing guests from around the US…

Thank you to the Luminate Foundation for sponsoring this live show and for all of our NY-based friends, and network from around the world that made it to Brooklyn for a magical evening. You can also watch the live recording on Youtube.

  • KeShaun Pearson (Memphis Community Against Pollution) will break down how Elon Musk’s xAI supercomputer is polluting the air of historically Black neighborhoods in Memphis, and how organizers are fighting back against yet another chapter of corporate extraction in their communities.
  • KD Minor (Alliance for Affordable Energy) will demystify the energy impacts of data centers in Louisiana and share organizing strategies to mobilize community opposition to Big Tech and Big Oil infrastructure.
  • Marisol (No Desert Data Center) will talk about their grassroots coalition’s recent win in Tucson to stop Amazon’s Project Blue data center proposal, which threatened the city’s scarce water supply, and how they’re organizing for future protections.
  • Amba Kak (AI Now Institute) will talk us through the bigger picture: what’s behind Big Tech’s AI data center expansion, who stands to benefit from this boom, and what we sacrifice in return.

Further reading & resources:

  • Amazon Web Services is company behind Tucson’s Project Blue, according to 2023 county memo — from Luminaria
  • Tuscon to create new policies around NDAs following the councils regret around not knowing more about Project Blue — from Luminaria
  • How Marana, also in the Tuscon area, employed an ordinance to regulate water usage after learning about data center interest in the area.
  • xAI has requested an additional 150MGW of power for Colossus in Memphis, bring it to a total of 300MGW
  • Time reports on increase in nitrogen dioxide pollution around Memphis due to xAI turbines
  • Keshaun and Justin Pearson on Democracy Now discussing xAI’s human rights violations
  • Meta’s Mega Data Center Could Strain Louisiana’s Grid — and Entergy Isn’t Prepared — report by the Alliance for Affordable Energy
  • 'A Black Hole of Energy Use': Meta's Massive AI Data Center Is Stressing Out a Louisiana Community — 404 Media

**Subscribe to our newsletter to get more stuff than just a podcast — we run events and do other work that you will definitely be interested in!**

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Computer Says MaybeBy Alix Dunn

  • 5
  • 5
  • 5
  • 5
  • 5

5

10 ratings


More shows like Computer Says Maybe

View all
The New Yorker Radio Hour by WNYC Studios and The New Yorker

The New Yorker Radio Hour

6,810 Listeners

Global News Podcast by BBC World Service

Global News Podcast

7,685 Listeners

Economist Podcasts by The Economist

Economist Podcasts

4,182 Listeners

The Political Scene | The New Yorker by WNYC Studios and The New Yorker

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

4,000 Listeners

The Gray Area with Sean Illing by Vox

The Gray Area with Sean Illing

10,746 Listeners

Uncanny Valley | WIRED by WIRED

Uncanny Valley | WIRED

501 Listeners

Science Weekly by The Guardian

Science Weekly

416 Listeners

Today in Focus by The Guardian

Today in Focus

987 Listeners

Post Reports by The Washington Post

Post Reports

5,475 Listeners

The Intelligence from The Economist by The Economist

The Intelligence from The Economist

2,539 Listeners

Your Undivided Attention by The Center for Humane Technology, Tristan Harris, Daniel Barcay and Aza Raskin

Your Undivided Attention

1,596 Listeners

POLITICO Tech by POLITICO

POLITICO Tech

387 Listeners

Hard Fork by The New York Times

Hard Fork

5,488 Listeners

The Ezra Klein Show by New York Times Opinion

The Ezra Klein Show

16,095 Listeners

Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000 by Emily M. Bender and Alex Hanna

Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000

43 Listeners