In speaking with non-technical friends who are anti-data centers, I get the impression that they only recently discovered what a data center even was and are oblivious to how much they use data centers in their daily lives outside of AI.
But I don’t fault them even if they’re misinformed. AI is a big power grab by the wealthy and people feel helpless and are acting in the only way they think they can.
I don't know that those timelines make sense; there were highways going through San Francisco... until the Loma Prieta earthquake; and then suddenly not. A cursory look at what Freeway Revolt was, seems to point to a movement in the 1950-1960's, rather than the early 1990's.
But I don’t fault them even if they’re misinformed. AI is a big power grab by the wealthy and people feel helpless and are acting in the only way they think they can.