With the wide spread increase of data centers in the U.S. there has also been wide spread concern about them. Most people are highly concerned about the enviromental effects as well as the overall costs to area residents relating to utilities.
I feel the same way about these issues, however what most people seem to miss is what is happening with our freedoms. When it comes to FLOCK cammeras popping up everywhere the current out cry is that they are infringing on our freedoms. Yes, many of the FLOCK cammeras are being removed, but while they are being removed new cameras are being installed in evreyday street lights and are going undeted.
What does this have to do with data centers? Everything. While data centers are in need to provide space for AI programs and learning, they do not need the amount of space that is being created for AI. They are mass storage facilities opperated by private company who know where you drive. It knows when you leave the house, which roads you take, what time you come home -- logging your car’s movements through a network of AI cameras that scan some 20 billion license plates a month, in more than 6,000 communities across the country, and store them in a database police can search without a warrant. It is the kind of mass surveillance Americans tend to associate with authoritarian states like China.
Commercial data brokers and tech platforms collect, aggregate, and sell vast quantities of digital footprints, location tracking, and metadata to both corporate buyers and government agencies.
Privacy advocates continue to target the commercial data-broker loophole that lets government entities purchase mass personal data.
Digital devices listen and capture more information than any of us can imagine. This is why data centers are being built and that is what scares me.
The ACLU of Massachusits website has a lot of information about data collection. You can view it here.
The United States has the most data centers in the world, with over 4,400 to 5,400 facilities depending on the tracking methodology.Global data center counts vary by industry trackers like Statista and Data Centers, but the top nations remain consistent.
United States: ~4,400 – 5,427 facilities (approx. 45% of the global total)
United Kingdom: ~523 – 564 facilities
Germany: ~523 – 532 facilities
China: ~373 – 449 facilities
France: ~321 – 391 facilities
Canada: ~337 facilities
Japan: ~222 – 261 facilities
India: ~153 – 298 facilities
Australia: ~314 facilities
Brazil: ~197 facilities
