AI isn’t feeding you

[ad_1] <img class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="4c45857ee3da7b7f5d0420dc018ec2df" id="e94cc" src="https://www.conservativereview.com/media-library/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnRoZWJsYXplLmNvbS9tZWRpYS1saWJyYXJ5L2FpLWlzbnQtZmVlZGluZy15b3UuanBnP2lkPTYxNjU5MjgzJmFtcDt3aWR0aD0xMjQ1JmFtcDtoZWlnaHQ9NzAwJmFtcDtjb29yZGluYXRlcz0wLDE3LDAsMTg0IiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTc3MTA5ODkxNX0.2v3DpwbdGtiiIcFud0HMMSvpE5vIjQrH5II7rVDJZqg/image.jpg" /> Mason County, Kentucky, sits simply an hour from Cincinnati however looks like one other world. Its stunning rolling hills, deep farming roots, and traditions make it a bastion of conservative tradition. Trump carried the county by 44 factors. Residents mistrust globalism, Massive Tech, and authorities collusion.

But Mason has grow to be the most recent goal for one of many largest knowledge facilities on this planet. The corporate behind it hides its title, cloaks officers in nondisclosure agreements, and dangles money at landowners whereas refusing to disclose the way it will feed the huge starvation for energy and water.

The query now's whether or not Kentucky — and America — will heed the warning or permit ‘progress’ to eat the very land, meals, water, and energy that make progress attainable.

The plan requires a sprawling 5,000-acre “expertise campus” close to Massive Pond and Tuckahoe roads. Native officers admit the client is a Fortune 20 big, described solely as a “world, prime 10” firm with “a whole bunch of hundreds of staff.”

Residents say the ways are acquainted. A number of landowners get presents — $35,000 an acre on this case — whereas the broader group is left to bear the burden: displaced farmland, strained assets, and declining property values. Good luck promoting to anybody however the data-center developer as soon as the deal is in movement.

Energy drain The proposed advanced in Maysville would demand 2.2 gigawatts of energy, beginning at 110 megawatts by 2026 and hitting full capability by 2028-2031. That’s the annual power use of 1.8 million American houses. For a county of 17,000 folks, the numbers are staggering. The venture alone would practically double the East Kentucky Energy Cooperative’s yearly output.

And that’s earlier than accounting for water. Knowledge facilities require huge cooling techniques that siphon off native provides. Add within the direct lack of 5,000 acres of farmland and timberland — in a nation already dealing with record-low cattle herds and shrinking meals safety — and the worth tag for “progress” retains rising.

By comparability, the typical coal plant sits on 585 acres; a pure gasoline plant, solely 30. These services energy the nation. This one would devour energy and water to feed servers.

A nationwide pattern This isn’t nearly Mason County. Hyperscale knowledge facilities are sprouting in every single place with the assistance of state and federal officers desperate to rezone farmland. Twenty such services are already deliberate for Kentucky, 10 for Ohio, and 35 for Indiana. Every web site removes productive farmland, stresses infrastructure, and arms extra of the meals and power provide to large firms.

The gross sales pitch is all the time the identical: jobs and financial growth. But the true math appears totally different. The U.S. misplaced greater than 100,000 beef-cow operations between 2017 and 2022. Farmers face larger feed prices, tighter margins, and competitors from big meat-packers. Now, Massive Tech threatens to take what’s left.

Cronyism uncovered Mason County Decide-Govt Owen McNeill and different officers signed NDAs whereas selling the deal. Residents see it for what it's: guarantees of prosperity in change for his or her land, heritage, and lifestyle. On Fb, 1,500 locals in “We Are Mason County” examine it to a Nigerian prince rip-off — large guarantees, little proof, and large dangers.

The rip-off extends to Frankfort. Home Invoice 775 exempts knowledge facilities from Kentucky’s 6% gross sales and use tax for 50 years. Servers, networking gear, cooling techniques — all tax-free. Farmers pay gross sales tax on each tractor and plow, however Google and Meta lobbied for an countless free journey.

RELATED: Time to pump the brakes on Massive Tech’s AI boondoggle

Picture by BlackJack3D through Getty Photos

Land, meals, water, energy At stake are the 4 necessities of civilization. Land grows meals. Water sustains life. Energy retains the lights on. As soon as given away, none of those may be reclaimed. The boosters of synthetic intelligence say America will need to have the infrastructure for it at any price. But when AI can’t survive with out tax breaks, secrecy, and the seizure of farmland, possibly it isn’t the inevitable juggernaut Silicon Valley claims.

Mason County itself bears the title of George Mason, the anti-Federalist who warned that monopolies in commerce and commerce would imply “no Safety for ... the Individuals for his or her Rights.” He didn't dwell to see world monopolies seizing farmland in Kentucky, however he predicted the hazard.

The query now's whether or not Kentucky — and America — will heed the warning or permit “progress” to eat the very land, meals, water, and energy that make progress attainable.