Kevin O’Leary, known for Shark Tank and Dragon’s Den, has had his AI dreams approved. He’s building a 40,000-acre AI data center farm in rural Utah. The Box Elder County Commission gave this plan the green light, infuriating local residents.
Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary has joined the AI data center boom with newly approved plans for a controversial massive project in Utah. Box Elder County is a community of 57,666 people in rural Utah, located near the Great Salt Lake. Those residents will soon suffer the noise and light pollution of an AI farm that’s more than double the size of Manhattan.
Utah is currently in a state of severe drought. The monitor shows that the entire state is drier than usual, with 76 percent of the area suffering extreme drought conditions. Considering how much fresh water AI centers consume to operate, this project could have truly devastating effects on its surroundings.
Water usage is just one of the major issues that has residents fuming:
Imagine This Sound, 24 Hours a Day
This is the type of noise that AI centers generate.
Imagine living with this cacophony day and night, 24 hours a day, every day of the year, without respite. Residents who live near other data centers describe the sound as sonic torture.
It isn’t just humans who suffer from living near these centers. The noise, light, and environmental pollution from them is devastating to wildlife as well. The noise is torturous for all animal species, and the light interferes with bird migratory patterns. Life deteriorates wherever an AI data center is built.
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Potential Devastation to Local Environment
It isn’t just the local residents who face serious health issues at the looming threat this AI data center poses. Robert Davies, a physics professor at Utah State University, says that the center could create a “massive heat island” that may devastate the local ecology.
“I suspected it would not be good,” he said. “What I’ve found is it’s so much worse than I even thought it would be.”
Many people seem to forget how interconnected all life is on the planet. If the data center increases heat in the area and uses up fresh water, it will affect plants, animals, insects, and birds. Furthermore, their absence or suffering will affect human lives in turn. If pollinating insects disappear because it’s too hot and dry for the plants they feed on to thrive, they won’t pollinate food crops either.
City Commissioners Ran Away from the Meeting
Local residents weren’t about to remain silent in the face of this decision. Hundreds of people attended the public meeting on the topic, holding signs and placards and demanding to be heard. Cries of “Shame! Shame! Shame!” echoed through the meeting place. Everyone told the council members exactly how they felt about the AI data center forced on them.
Tensions rose so highly that the commissioners scurried out of the hall and projected the rest of the meeting into the room for residents to view at a safe distance.
People feel disheartened when those who claim to represent them don’t listen, and don’t act on their behalf. Residents made their feelings clear, and the commissioners ignored them and ran away.
Voters are Not Helpless in the Face of AI Madness
Although this AI data center has been approved, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to be built. Many politicians forget that their careers are very much in the hands of the voters around them. In fact, if their constituents aren’t happy with their decision, they may find themselves ousted.
Protests and political upheaval from residents protesting data centers are rising nationwide, but violence isn’t the answer. For example, residents of Festus, Missouri, recently unseated all the council members who approved a $6 billion data center in their area.
If you don’t want an AI data center built near your home, raise your voice. Call your MPs, start petitions, and make your votes count.
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