Data centers are a threat to our community
The battle over data centers reveals the next iteration of global domination by white monopoly capital. Tech billionaires seek unprecedented wealth. The post Data centers are a threat to our community appeared first on AFRO American Newspapers.
Black News 
By Dayvon Love
The political contestation over data centers is not just a battle over the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in modern society, environmental regulations and local zoning. It’s a manifestation of the next iteration of the global domination of white monopoly capital.
The tech industry is pushing forward an agenda that centers the discourse of technological innovation as a guise for unprecedented wealth accumulation for tech billionaires. Similar to the robber barons of the late 19th and early 20th century, industries like steel and the railroads became essential elements of a new highly industrialized world. This generated unprecedented wealth for the owners of the businesses that dominated these industries. Today, with the integration of AI in many aspects of our daily lives, the owners of the businesses that monopolize the tech world are on the verge of acquiring unprecedented wealth and power.
In pursuit of this wealth on the part of tech billionaires they have the ability to shape the political landscape in a way that is favorable to their economic interests. What is at stake for communities around the country is the environmental degradation that comes with these data center complexes that utilize tremendous amounts of energy and water. These data centers put a strain on energy generation which can (and has) driven up the cost of energy for the surrounding communities. They also contribute to increased levels of pollution due to the accelerated levels of energy production that data centers require. Black people and poor/working class communities of color historically have been hardest hit by the impacts of environmental degradation.
Harford County became the first county in Maryland to ban data centers. Harford County is a jurisdiction that is heavily Republican, but is becoming more purple. Their ban demonstrates that communities have the ability to force their elected representatives to reject the idea that these data centers are a political inevitability. This is a contrast to Baltimore City that is calling for a 1 year moratorium on data centers, and established a commission that would lay out regulations for data centers in Baltimore.
I attended a hearing on May 7 at city hall where the public had an opportunity to weigh in on proposal for a data center moratorium in Baltimore. There were many people who were making important arguments about why data centers are harmful to our communities, but the only person that explicitly called for a ban was Andy Ellis, who is the Green Party nominee for governor.
I think that the political left will need to be more forceful about demanding that we ban data centers in Baltimore and in majority Black communities around the country. Just like the majority white, deeply Republican county of Harford County banned data centers in a move to protect their community from the impacts of data centers, we need to protect our communities in that same way.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the writer and not necessarily those of the AFRO.
The post Data centers are a threat to our community appeared first on AFRO American Newspapers.
