There are a lot of sacrifices being made to usher in the latest technological age. Jobs, businesses, even whole industries are at risk of disappearing.
Now we can add homes to the list – as new electricity infrastructure for data centers in the state of Georgia means 30 homes are to be bulldozed and 330 parcels of land seized.
The good news is that the additional power will allow for extra data center capacity. And those same people who lost their houses can look forward to having their own personal AI agent to help to find a new place to live.
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Losing homes for AI
In case you missed it, Mark Zuckerberg has announced yet another five year plan for AI, saying that billions of people will soon have their own personal AI agents – something that will require a data center buildout far beyond anything we’ve currently seen.
These agents will be “working on your behalf 24/7 to achieve your goals in whatever the domain is that you care about,” Zuckerberg said. They’ll basically do everything you already do, manage your relationships, sort your finances, even manage your household tasks.
So when AI frees everyone from the burdens of being human, what are we left to contend with? We get to channel the world’s resources, climate, homes, and personal information and in return, AI can live your life for you. You’ll have so much free time to do… something else? Maybe listen to the tuneful hum of the local data center?
The promises of AI seem to add up to human replacement. The main reason businesses are chewing at the bit to adopt AI technology is because it promises to cut one of their main expenses: labor. The levels of productivity will stay the same, or maybe even improve, but profits will skyrocket thanks to significantly reduced operating costs.
There will be new jobs in new never-before-thought-of sectors, or so we are told. But is this just a way to placate those losing their jobs to AI technology?
At present, AI is cutting through the entry level positions and administrative work that used to be a good way into a new industry. AI is therefore replacing existing workers, while simultaneously shutting them out from moving to other industries. Lets not forget that many workplaces are implementing AI interviewers that suck what was left of human interaction (much of which is a facade) out of the job seeking process.
As an added kick in the teeth, once you’ve lost your source of income your energy bills will likely rise as data centers attach to an already strained electricity grid. Many US electricity providers have upped bills as a way to pay for infrastructural upgrades to provide new connections for data centers. And don’t forget the air quality will get worse as more and more gas-burning turbines power up to meet the demand for power.
I still believe there is some good AI can do for the world, particularly in science and medicine. But the main benefit I expect AI to provide to the workplace is a revitalization of labor unions. Despite decades of union busting and a general decline in membership as the old guard retires, this new threat to workers will hopefully act as a catalyst to return labor unions to their former glory.
The more members they have, the stronger they are. No amount of AI agents can change that.
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benedict.collins@futurenet.com (Benedict Collins)
