I am subsidizing data centers via my power bill, all so they can over clock them more than really necessary. I use 1 billion claude tokens a month and understand the usefulness of AI, but id wager over 80% of AI spend comes from unsolicited interactions like on google searches, or AI summaries on emails, shitty AI videos on instagram and facebook, endless garbage youtube reels they love shoving down my face...

That is the visible part that leads most people to being anti data center. The average Joe thinks "why is my community, water supply, and money going to this thing I dont want"

Good point! My argument was that the upside is invisible but the costs are visible. You're saying that the downside is visible and the costs are visible. Those hypotheses are in tension -- do people connect data centers to their upsides and downsides or not? -- but now I'm inclined to think that we're both right and it's a bit of both.