My concern isn’t with data centers as physical structures. They’re merely the infrastructure of modernity. My concern is with what they enable: a world increasingly mediated by screens, algorithms, and artificial intelligence. Every technological leap promises greater convenience, yet often comes at the cost of something profoundly human. The automobile distanced us from the horse. Artificial lighting distanced us from the stars. Social media distanced us from our communities. AI risks distancing us from thought itself. Data centers are simply the engine driving that acceleration.
My concern isn’t primarily with data centers themselves or even modern technology. Hyperscale data centers certainly raise legitimate issues; higher utility costs, environmental impacts, and strain on local ecosystems. But my deeper concern is with modernity itself and the gradual loss of our humanity.
With the invention of the automobile, we lost much of our connection to the horse. With artificial lighting, we lost our connection to the stars. With social media, we’ve become less social than ever. Each technological advance may solve a practical problem, yet it often distances us from the very experiences that make us human.
Data centers accelerate that trend. My concern isn’t merely their physical footprint, but that they enable technologies that further separate us from the natural world, from one another, and ultimately from what it means to be human.
@HomericFuturist While America is a republic, it’s worth asking what that actually means and how the system was originally intended to operate. For example, was universal voting ever part of the original design of a republic?
Their goal isn’t to demonstrate that socialism is a “better system”; if that were truly their objective, they could simply live under one. Rather, at a deeper level, they feel powerless in their current system of abundance. In response, they seek to tear down the existing order under the illusion that they will be able to control the phoenix that rises from its ashes.
@ShaneSchaetzel This reminds me of the Fatima prayer. We should pray for everyone to make it to heaven, regardless of earthly differences, as the alternative should never be wished upon anyone.
@TheresaArueyin1 Christians have often thrived in times of persecution. In fact, the Christian faith is frequently lived most faithfully when believers walk in the footsteps of Christ Himself; the most persecuted. Comfort, decadence, and leisure can draw us away from our dependence on God.
Hillsborough increased its budget by 60% in five years. The majority of these tax eliminations for homeowners specifically apply to those with homestead exemptions. The vast majority of property tax revenue in Florida comes from non-homestead properties: commercial, investment, and vacation properties.