Tech companies should be bringing their own renewable energy to power data centers, not burning fossil fuels or driving up costs for consumers. Anti-data-center sentiment in rural Kansas neighborhood, May, 2024 -- Catboy69, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Todd Larsen Data centers are notorious energy hogs. With each hyperscale data center using as much energy as an entire city, they’re polluting surrounding areas, straining grids, and raising electric rates nationwide. Th

They say they want the public to "share in the upside" of AI. But what about the downside? A gathering of technology moguls at the White House, September, 2025. Sam Altman is one the far right. -- public domain image By Jim Hightower Step right up folks! Please don’t crowd! No need to shove, plenty here for everyone! Welcome to the AI boom! Silicon Valley billionaires are now proposing a scheme to deliver an unbelievable windfall to “every citizen.” Tech titans like Sam Altma

Funeral of the children of Minab Primary School for Girls killed during Saturday 28 Feb. 2026 bombardment of the school -- Tasnim News Agency, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Vijay Prashad In the southern Iranian city of Minab, where the heat rises from the earth in shimmering waves and the reality of imperialism lingers in every port and military installation, a missile struck a school on 28 February 2026. The strike killed 156 people, notably 120 schoolchildren, which t

The data centers popping up across the South and Midwest don’t just pollute and raise utility bills — they keep Americans hooked on wars for oil. Construction at the Southaven, Mississippi data center -- image via news video screenshot from April, 2026 By Melissa Garriga Across the country, resistance to data centers is rising even as plans are steadily being made to build new ones. According to the Pew Research Center, a majority of new data centers — 67 percent — are being

Data center hucksters are trying to buy state lawmakers in bulk because the public doesn't buy what they're selling. Representational image By Jim Hightower Bribery of a lawmaker used to be a straightforward retail transaction between the special interest briber and a specific bribee. But the Silicon Valley billionaires now invading rural America with hundreds of their exploitative AI data centers are out to buy state lawmakers in bulk. Instead of slipping cash-filled envelop

Capitalism has elected AI as the next tool to distribute and dismantle labor, create a new power structure in the world, and repress social and political movements. Elon Musk in September, 2025 -- Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By João Camargo, Common Dreams AI is being diffused throughout society under chatbots, models, and agents which are explicitly reactionary and create communicative and physical walls to defend the status quo. Capitalism has elected

The relentless push for data centers is raising US power bills and polluting US communities. It doesn’t have to be this way. Virginia data center -- image via news video screenshot By Michi Trota Bill Gates recently made headlines by suggesting that climate change is no longer a priority , but the American public begs to differ. In this last election, climate change was a defining issue in states like Virginia and Georgia , where voters grappled with rising energy costs. And

AI’s massive energy use is giving fossil fuels a lifeline when they should be rapidly phased out in response to the climate emergency. Meta’s Mesa Data Center, Arizona -- image via Meta By Jean Su & John Fleming, Common Dreams What started as rivulets of hype, hope, and alarm over artificial intelligence have combined into a tsunami-level wave washing over the American consciousness. ChatGPT is the most downloaded application in history, AI stock prices are hitting record ma

Most Americans think technology is making us lonelier. Big Tech’s solution? Be friends with your tech. Screenshot from the Friend teaser video By Sonali Kolhatkar This fall, Avi Schiffman, founder of the AI startup Friend.com , boasted on X about his company’s new advertising blitz, claiming it was the “Largest NYC subway campaign ever.” Since then, the large white billboards lining New York City’s train stations have not only sparked intense conversation, but also vandalism

Billionaires want to use the US public's tax dollars to put nuclear-powered AI data centers in drought-prone farmland. What could go...

AI data centers produce massive noise pollution, use huge amounts of water, and keep us hooked on fossil fuels. A Google Data Center in...

The promise of AI is eclipsed by its perils, which include our own annihilation. By Richard Heinberg Those advocating for artificial...