And the issue at hand, of course, is really data centers and not AI.
It has really given us a perfect emblem of the worst capitalism has to offer, I'm not holding my breath but perhaps this backlash will precipitate further change to drive us toward a flatter economy and a society that does a better job of rejecting exploitation and concentration of power. One that more effectively serves humanity and allows us to find a much better global optimum.
Are you seeing the physical AI that has just begun to explode over the last few months? Robots can now literally reliably put your clothes into a washing machine, start it, move them to the dryer, pull them out and fold and stack all of them. They can almost reliably rinse and put your dishes into the dishwasher, start it, then pull them out and put them away into your cabinets. This is all paradigm shifting stuff, and I’ll resist any attempt to stall progress in that space so some people can have a job for a few more months.
It didn't need an LLM or deep learning to do its job because it would randomly crawl around so long that it was on. I don't understand adding complexity, fragility, or cost to a solved problem, but I guess there are enough people who engage in competitive conspicuous consumption to signal status.
That said banning it across the whole state, in a state with ample industrial parks and water resources, does seem excessive.