CounterPunch Exclusives

CounterPunch Exclusives

Whitmer’s Data Center Push Isn’t Just Bad for Michigan – It’s Bad for the World

Photograph Source: The White House – Public Domain

“We’re used to people saying ‘fuck no’ and doing it anyway.” These words were seemingly spoken by our very own Governor Gretchen Whitmer earlier this month, caught on a hot mic chatting with Oracle executive Clay Magouryk. The two were celebrating breaking ground on the controversial new AI data center in rural Saline, Michigan — currently the largest data center project in the country. Governor Whitmer is apparently happy to sell Michigan out to military tech giants OpenAI and Oracle. This is the latest in a series of data center projects being forced into communities that have made their opposition crystal clear. Michiganders are ‘fighting like hell’ because they understand exactly what is at stake; Southwest Michigan residents have already filed a class-action lawsuit for the 24/7 noise nuisance that disrupts daily life and reduces property values.

The development of AI data centers creates harm and destruction. The companies that drive this development, such as OpenAI and Palantir, have contracts with the U.S. military and government agencies like ICE. Locally, the influx of these data centers provides infrastructure for mass........

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