Something remarkable has happened over the past 18 months across the U.S. and especially across the South: a mounting backlash against the explosion of data centers, surveillance cameras, and so-called artificial intelligence. This week, we talk to Tim Cywinski of the Virginia chapter of the Sierra Club, who has been leading the fight against data centers in the state that has become their epicenter.
Also: The bipartisan push to “get the Flock out,” and efforts to put some guardrails around AI. And a remembrance of the beloved Kentucky writer, conservationist and farmer Wendell Berry.
(Photos: Tim Cywinski of the Sierra Club, and a cluster of data centers in Ashburn, Va.)
Show Notes:
Sierra Club Virginia Chapter
“Unconstrained Demand: Virginia’s Data Center Expansion and Its Impacts” Sierra Club Virginia Chapter
U.S. AI Law Tracker Orrick
“The IJ Database of ALPR Abuse” Institute for Justice
“Texas and Florida Step Back from ALPRs” Electronic Frontier Foundation
“Lawmakers added $1 to Texans’ car insurance policies. That money paid for thousands of Flock cameras.” The Texas Tribune
“Cities terminate Flock contracts at record pace in August” ArsTechnica
“Data Center Moratoriums by State: Tracker and Statistics” Programs
“Kentucky writer, farmer and advocate Wendell Berry dies at 92” Kentucky Lantern
“The Peace of Wild Things” Wendell Berry