The ability to reason differentiates human beings from all other creatures. Our unique capacity for abstract and complex thought enable advanced planning, moral insight, and intricate problem solving. Over the course of just a couple of generations, reasoned decision-making in serious matters that require us to deliberate as a community has been increasingly replaced with emotion driven chaos. If we don’t recognize this shift and turn it around, it will impair our ability to thoughtfully plan a future that will serve our needs and desires, and make us vulnerable to those who understand how easy it is to manipulate people who have abandoned critical thinking.
AI Data Centers – A Case Study of Emotion in Overdrive
Revolutionary innovations have often generated public resistance. There are many examples. In the 1970’s and ‘80’s there was epic backlash against nuclear power plants from a public concerned about safety, environmental impacts, and the potential for catastrophic accidents. The introduction of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) into agriculture and medicine elicited a similar outcry from the public concerned about health risks and ecological consequences. Concerns were systematically addressed in ways that met the majority’s expectations for balance between benefits and what they considered reasonable risks.
Today, we have to look no further than the turmoil being generated in response to the proliferation of AI data centers, needed to support the Artificial Intelligence (AI) boom, to witness how unproductive emotion driven decision-making can be. This is not intended to be a statement about the goodness or badness of AI and its production requirements. It is a case study in how the absence of a rational decision-making process prevents making societal decisions in way that optimizes their benefits for the community and protects the public from potential downsides.
There are currently over 4,000 data centers in operation across the United States. This year, there are 74 new AI focused data centers under construction. 70% of Americans surveyed are against data centers, despite the fact that most of us know very little about them. The news media is covering public meetings in communities that are considering the construction of data centers. More often than not, they devolve into shouting matches with hostile residents firmly taking the position “not in my backyard.”
The antidote for fear of the unknown is facts. The opposition people have to data centers is driven by legitimate concerns about the impact on their communities. They have many questions including whether the energy consumption of the centers will excessively strain local power grids; how the substantial water usage requirements will impact local water supplies; potential for air and noise pollution; other types of environmental degradation; and whether the jobs created will be a match for the local workforce skill set. Communities have every right to determine whether any costs of a local data center will outweigh the benefits and that is a calculation only they can make.
What would an effective process for a decision about whether to allow construction of an AI data center in a community look like? Ideally, it should be the same well-established approach the community uses for a decision about any significant issue that impacts its residents. Led by the elected officials who are accountable to those who elected them, it must start with the assurance that citizens will have meaningful voice and local control over the final decision. Skilled leaders work with their constituents to translate their concerns, objectively and dispassionately, into measurable outcomes that are used to define the requirements of the corporations who seek to become part of their community. Members of the community will use those requirements as a framework for the education they will need if they are going to be equipped to make an informed decision about whether or not to support the proposed project. This is basic, reasoned decision-making. Why is it so rare?
Neglecting to teach generations of young Americans how to live successful lives has set us up for failure. An unrealistic and unhealthy desire to have everyone feeling good all of the time has deprived generations of developing the skills and resilience needed to master the real problems life will present. From awarding trophies to everyone for just showing up in youth sports to universities that create “safe spaces” with cookies and milk and coloring books for young adults to cope with situations that upset them, we have failed. Fighting with anonymous know nothings about meaningless nonsense on social media has become a substitute for the spirited debate of ideas central to a strong democratic republic.
Real leadership in the public arena is nearly nonexistent. In a free society, the will of the people is translated into a way of life. Skilled leaders arm their constituents with facts and guide the spirited debate of differences of opinion to outcomes that the majority find acceptable. Today, corruption and ineptitude of elected officials permeate the entire political apparatus, from local communities to Congress. Problems don’t get solved and emotions are exploited for political advantage.
The media is dishonest and politically biased. Serious investigative journalism was intended by our Founders to play a crucial role in uncovering the facts in matters of public importance. The media’s epic failure to serve the people as the watchdogs of truth has created an information gap that seriously compromises the public’s ability to make good decisions.
Apply the Lessons from the AI Chaos to the Critical Midterm Election
We are about to engage in an extremely consequential midterm election. Political operatives, candidates, and the media lie and prey upon emotions to manipulate voters’ decisions. We cannot believe a word they say.
The Biden administration and the Democrats were masterful at using fear during the pandemic to manipulate us and rob us of our freedom. We experienced unprecedented government infringement on our rights including censorship of speech and government mandates. Record inflation driven by “fiscal stimulus” liberal ideology made life very hard, compounded by arbitrary lock downs, job losses, and small business closures. Schools were arbitrarily closed and children regressed academically and socially. Billions of mismanaged dollars have been stolen from the American people through fraud, and the Biden open border policy flooded the country with millions of unvetted illegal aliens. In the ultimate attempt to deceive the American people, the Democrats, aided by the media, tried to get a frail and demented President Biden elected for a second term.
The Democratic party is in the process of being taken over by a new generation of communists who want to fundamentally dismantle our government and destroy our way of life. They make no attempt to hide their agenda. The Democratic old guard wants us to ignore the communist threat, forget the horrific experience of the Biden years, and give them control of Congress as the party of “affordability” and the working man. Adding insult to injury, they suddenly want to capitalize on the anxiety about the potential hazards of AI by making regulation of the industry an election priority, after many months of silence. We know what we know.
Trump came into his second term with an aggressive agenda. The border was closed within months and record numbers of criminal illegals deported. He brokered numerous peace deals between countries that had been warring for years. He restored America’s energy dominance and slashed regulation to create a business-friendly environment. He shepherded the “big, beautiful bill” through Congress, putting more money in the pockets of every hard-working American. He has secured $3 trillion in commitments from companies to bring manufacturing back to the United States. He secured most favored nation status from the major drug companies that will result in the American people going from paying the highest prices for drugs in the developed world to the lowest. He launched Trump Rx, a website that connects Americans who pay cash for their drugs with the lowest available prices.
Trump’s extensive business experience taught him how to produce results. He isn’t afraid of setbacks because, unlike the politicians who have their finger in the wind for every move they make, he has the guts to try things on behalf of the American people. Real leaders take their setbacks in stride, learn from them, and find an alternative route to the desired outcome
The military conflict with Iran has shown us why presidents over nearly fifty years just whistled past the graveyard while Iran instigated hate toward the United States and Israel, sponsored the world’s terrorists who were responsible for killing thousands of Americans, and pursued nuclear weapons. Trump decided the time had come to permanently end Iran’s ambition to develop a nuclear weapon, and, despite their staying power, my money is on him to ultimately achieve that goal. Trump is not going to allow the midterm election timetable to drive his strategy with Iran. He deserves our support to see the neutralization of the Iranian threat through.
We know what we know. The next big decision is ours. Get yourself and those you know to the ballot box for the midterm elections. Kick your God-given ability to reason into overdrive and defeat the Democrats up and down the ballot.
