America’s data center insurrection was entirely predictable  

Silicon Valley and its techbro aristocracy is confused. They don’t understand why there is opposition to the data center buildout — opposition that is wide and deep. 

How could the public be so upset? After all, Big Tech has delivered so much, including addictive algorithms that target children, pervasive harvesting of personal information, delivery apps that crush small business margins, ride-hailing apps shrinking drivers’ incomes, AI-accelerated phishing emails, hard-to-cancel subscriptions and constant data breaches.

And then there is Open AI founder Sam Altman predicting mass job losses to AI (and dismissing such jobs as not “real work”) — actually, no, now he says there won’t be mass job losses. But maybe a malevolent AI takeover is imminent. 

Yes, it’s a mystery. 

But seriously, for a bunch of very, very smart people, they’re being pretty stupid. It sure is easy raking in billions when you’re living in your own protected Bay Area bubble, where your physical business and employees are distant from the people/customers feeding you. It’s a whole different ballgame when you encounter the unwashed masses and need their approval. 

And it shows up in the polls. According to a recent YouGov poll, data centers are viewed negatively by a net margin of 20 points overall, with Democrats net-negative 47 points and young voters net-negative 36 points. They do best with self-described MAGA voters: net-positive by just 8 points, with approval only at 41 percent (18 percent neutral). 

But that’s just the abstract. When asked about their own........

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