source:  newswithviews

By Kat Stansell

August 3, 2026

Tesla’s humanoid robot Optimus distributes popcorn at a Christmas market stall.

The average citizen who is NOT a “techie” does not favor artificial intelligence and data centers because they fear the loss of jobs, natural resources, open lands and computers controlling their lives. We all understand that. Many, if not most of us agree.

Basically, data centers are the physical plant of the internet. Most Americans utilize the ‘net, so what’s the big deal. Right? Why are we against its expansion?

The primary issue, at this point is: Are the costs (both human, environmental) too great for the rewards? Behind this is, of course, is the worry that AI will take control of our lives and our world. Both concerns are very real. Then, there’s China…more on that in a minute.

Tech experts themselves are questioning the value of the billions-trillions being invested.

THIS is, to me, cautionary to say the least.

The data center landscape in the U.S. is evolving rapidly, driven, it is said, by the demand for cloud computing and AI services. Depending on the article y9ou read, TX or Virginia lead the pack, for the most US data centers on their soil, followed by GA and PA.

From my deep digs in the field of election integrity, I have to wonder if these information hubs are involved in the election fraud, which we now know has been rampant in the last decade. Might just be me, but ERIC (Electronic Registration Information Center) is fundamentally a large data base of ALL of the records of anyone who ever registered to vote in any ERIC state since 2012. That is a lot of useful information from which one can cull a few million extra voters when needed. You see, ERIC never returns the information when a state leaves their system.

But. I digress. Maybe.

The first data center was built in 1945 at U. Penn. Until the ‘90’s, they were little more than back rooms somewhere where the noisy computing systems processed the information fed to them on punched cards and responded to clacking input from keyboards.

By the ‘90’s and into the 2000’s, networks and personal computing had grown to the point where businesses of all sizes needed it (information technology) infrastructure.

According to the Epoch times,

“Major technology firms are investing billions of dollars in new data center facilities, power supplies, and computing resources. Industry insiders, however, are divided over whether artificial intelligence is worth the cost. The engineers and architects actually building these systems are the ones asking the hard questions about compute, model redundancy, and whether the infrastructure footprint is proportional to the value being delivered,”

A computing policy and safety expert says that the utility of AI is being “fluffed up to justify its progression”. Let that sink in.

You may be familiar with the term, “hyperscaling”, which is different from ordinary computing. Hyperscaling uses teams of independent distributed computer systems which split up tasks among themselves for greater speed and efficacy.

Traditional data centers, on the other hand, prioritize centralized computer systems, which can often mean fewer but more powerful computers.

Hyperscaling faces increasing criticism from citizens and local governments because of its massive use of power, water and open land resources. These facilities require substantial electricity and water to operate and cool thousands of servers, which raise long-term utility costs for residents and businesses, putting huge strain on local power grids and even on the health of those living or working nearby.
Suburban homes next to data centers

. . . Image, Business Insider, showing proximity of data center to Virginia homes

In April 2026, US News published a report covering this. At that time, Virginia was home to more data centers than any other state. As the demand for them grows, they are forced to use to any possible source of energy, including diesel, with its possible air pollution. Counties such as Prince William, are being inundated with them and the once-quiet area, is no longer.

Air, noise and water pollution from data centers can come with health problems for humans, according to a study published in February. Long-term impacts may include increased risk of respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease, mental health struggles, stroke, diabetes and adverse reproductive outcomes like miscarriage and stillbirth.

Communities have also raised concerns about land use, environmental impacts, and reliance on backup diesel generators.

Let’s go back to that tech expert saying that some may be trying “to justify the progression” of AI and data centers. Why would this be necessary?

Is the hyperscaling of data processing being promoted with an ulterior motive? Is the reality that bad?

Might that motive even be the control of humanity?

One very good friend of mine, a truly brilliant tech man, has entered the idea of AI being utilized to spy on people. He says that everything AI can do, can also be done on a good home computer, or will be, very shortly. Worldwide surveillance would then be the only reason for the existence of the vast AI infrastructure.

After all, if it were really a race to need more data centers than the next country, why would the US have over 5000 (1st in the world) when China has only 439 (4th place) . Might China not be stirring the competition, causing countries to enter the AI race and spend billions, then just hand out all the answers for free, thus destroying the reason for the costly infrastructure that is in so much discussion today? With the dollar being dependent on the oil and stock markets, can we afford to lose the billions in AI investment if China were to give provide AI for free?

Already, some AI services are being cut back. Claude, for example. Again, another topic for another time, but it is very relevant to the investment other countries are sinking in the AI world.

In an interview with the NY Post, 7/26/26, Elon Musk says AI could take over everything within 5 years. He continues, “The future is going to be very, very different from the past and there is no analogy or metaphor that illustrates the magnitude of change we’re going to experience here. . . . I think AI may exceed the sum of human intelligence in around five years.”

Musk continues, “assuming there is not World War III, I think we’re headed for age of amazing abundance. So this is a message of optimism and excitement about the future.” He predicts a world of available services for us all. No need to save for retirement in 10 years or so… Does Elon make too many assumptions? He has the trillions to ride it put. The rest of us, not so much.

You really have to read this NY Post article. You will have your own thoughts I am SURE.

Abundance, I suppose, is in the eyes of the beholder. Many of us just want our open lands, fresh air, and available natural resources. THAT is “abundance” to us. What, really do we NEED, in this land of plenty, but the freedom to make our own choices and the funds with which to do that. Stopping the fraud that is rampant in America could go a good way towards that. The US government in ‘23 and ‘24 – the Obama/Biden years – was defrauded of approximately $15 billion, through social services, et.al. It would be a dream to get even some of that back.

I believe that what we need most of all, is to keep our free and fair voting system (minus the massive fraud), and thereby, our free Republic. This will lead – I pray – the return of our moral bedrock; family values, religion and education.

Everything else is a side road from there.

© 2026 Kat Stansell – All Rights Reserved

E-Mail Kat Stansell: katvanatt@protonmail.com