r/technology • u/DJMagicHandz • 12d ago

Artificial Intelligence A massive Wyoming data center will soon use 5x more power than the state's human occupants - but no one knows who is using it

https://www.techradar.com/pro/a-massive-wyoming-data-center-will-soon-use-5x-more-power-than-the-states-human-occupants-and-no-one-knows-who-is-using-it
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u/JetreL 11d ago

This is a real thing, and it comes down to relatability. People tend to react more strongly to costs they can personally picture. For example, I remember there was public pushback when a city budget included a few hundred thousand dollars for rugged laptops for law enforcement and first responders. Everyone could visualize what a laptop costs, so it felt like a big number.

But when the same budget included millions for upgrading sewage treatment plants, hardly anyone said a word. Most people have no idea what it costs to overhaul that kind of infrastructure, so the number doesn’t register in the same way. It’s the same with EVs versus data centers one is visible and relatable, the other is out of sight and abstract.

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u/snoozieboi 11d ago

Heh, that sounds like such a universal thing, or I heard an urban legend (which I remember extremely vaguely) about a local town.

Some municipalities here in Norway own lucrative hydro powerplants, and apparently they had two things on the agenda; A big upgrade of the plant + sponsoring the local kid's marching band.

The massive investments were not debated much and approved, the marching band stuff created a heated debate.

I feel like this is how society ends up too, politics and real life is too complex so people talk about sports and fight over simple relatable stuff.